Gaia Engineering for Planetary Engineers

1. A Planet in Crisis Gaia Engineering for Planetary Engineers ? Global population, consumption per capita and our footprint on the planet are exploding. ? Undeveloped Countries Demographic Explosion => Developed Countries This presentation describes a recyclable world made of composites of carbon and other wastes. A world in which and our entourage of rats mice and cockroaches can live, make money and thrive. John Harrison B.Sc. B.Ec. FCPA. FAICD Managing director of TecEco and Chair of AASMIC

2. Our Ecological Footprint Exceeds Capacity Source: WWF State of the Planet, 2005 Our footprint is exceeding the capacity of the planet to support it. We are not longer sustainable and the environment is no longer sustainable – we must change our ways to survive. View further to discover how

3. Energy Peak Oil Production (Campell 2004) Most models of oil reserves, production and consumption show peak oil around 2010 (Campbell 2005) and serious undersupply and rapidly escalating prices by 2025. It follows that there will be economic mayhem unless the we act now to reduce and change the energy base of our economies.

4. The Carbon Cycle and Emissions Emissions from fossil fuels and cement production are a significant cause of global warming. We need to increase the sedimentary carbon sink 4.5 billion years of geological sequestration have resulted in 7% of the crust being carbonate Units: GtC GtC/yr After: David Schimel and Lisa Dilling, National Centre for Atmospheric Research 2003

5. Global Warming Rises in the levels of greenhouse gases Are causing a rapid rise in temperature

6. CO2 and Temperature Source of graphic: Hansen, J et. al. Climate Change and Trace Gases The correlation between temperature and CO2 in the atmosphere over the last 450,000 years is very good Even if voluntary emissions reductions were to succeed we must still get the CO2 out of the air. Carbon rationing is a frightening adjunct and alternative. Who will be the global police? The best plan is a holistic one that reduces emissions and profitably balances the inevitable releases from our activities with massive sequestration.

7. Water “1/3 of the world’s population are presently living in water stressed countries. Depending on the emission scenarios, climate scenarios and population change, it is estimated that up to 2/3 of the world’s population will be living in water stressed countries by 2050 as a result of climate change” Source of Graphic: Lean, Geoffrey, and Don Hinrichsen, 1994. Atlas of the Environment, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc. Source: Defra (2004). Scientific and Technical Aspects of Climate Change, including Impacts, Adaptation and Associated Costs. UK, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

8. Waste & Pollution • Ill health. • Contamination of global commons with dangerous molecules. • Increased traffic, noise, odours, smoke, dust, litter and pests. There are various estimates. The consensus is that we produce about 5-600 billion tonnes of waste each year. Tec and Eco-Cements use waste.

9. One Planet, Many People, Many Interconnected Problems TecEco are in the BIGGEST Business on the Planet – Economic Solutions to our Energy, Global Warming, Water and Waste Problems.

10. Urgent Fixes are Needed • Water • 1/3 of world population stressed for water • By 2050 2/3 due to global warming • Waste • Around 600 million tonnes. • The underlying moleconomic flow is poisoning our world • CO2 • Causing global temperature rises • Energy • Peak oil has passed and fossil fuel energy costs set to rise. All these problems are interconnected To solve these problems we need to change the way we do things and what we do them with!

11. The Techno-Process Biosphere Underlying the techno-process that describes and controls the flow of matter and energy through the supply and waste chains are molecular stocks and flows. If out of synch with earth systems these moleconomic flows have detrimental affects. Geosphere Detrimental affects on earth systems Waste Take Move 500-600 billion tonnesUse some 50 billion tonnes Materials Manipulate Materials Make and Use Anthroposphere To reduce the impact on earth systems new technical paradigms need to be invented and cultural changes evolve that result in materials flows with underlying molecular flows that mimic or at least do not interfere with natural flows and that support rather than detrimentally impact on earth systems.

12. The Earth System The earth system consists of positive and negative feedback loops. Small changes caused by man such as CO2 and otherclimate forcing as well as pollution impact right across all interconnected systems throughout the global commons. Atmosphere Anthropo-sphere Biosphere Geosphere Hydrosphere

13. Earth Systems Science Earth Systems Atmospheric composition, climate, land cover, marine ecosystems, pollution, coastal zones, freshwater salinity etc. Source graphic: NASA Earth system science treats the entire Earth as a system in its own right, which evolves as a result of positive and negative feedback between constituent systems (Wiki). These systems are ideally homeostatic.

14. Detrimental Impacts of the Techno-Process Detrimental Linkages that affect earth system flows Take manipulate and make impacts End of lifecycle impacts There is no such place as “away” Use impacts.Materials are in the Techno-Sphere Utility zone Materials are everything between the take and waste and affect earth system flows. Less Utility Greater Utility

15. Under Materials Flows in the Techno-Processes are Molecular Flows Take → Manipulate → Make→ Use → Waste [ ←Materials flow→ ] [ ← Underlying molecular flow → ] If the underlying molecular flows are “out of tune” with nature there is damage to the environmente.g. heavy metals, cfc’s, c=halogen compounds and CO2 Moleconomics is the study of the form of atoms in molecules, their flow, interactions, balances, stocks and positions. What we take from the environment around us, how we manipulate and make materials out of what we take and what we waste result in underlying molecular flows that affect earth systems. These flows should mimic, balance or minimally interfere with natural flows. To fix the molecular flows that are impacting our planet we must first fix the materials flows in a bottom up approach

16. Innovative New Materials - the Key to Sustainability Materials are what builders use The choice of materials controls emissions, lifetime and embodied energies, user comfort, use of recycled wastes, durability, recyclability and the properties of wastes returned to the bio-geo-sphere. By changing how we make “things” and what we make them with we can fix the underlying molecular flows that are destroying the natural homeostasis of our planet

17. Economically Driven Sustainability New, more profitable technical paradigms are required that result in more sustainable and usually more efficient moleconomic flows that mimic natural flows or better, reverse our damaging flows. $ - ECONOMICS - $ Change is only possible economically. It will not happen because it is necessary or right.

18. Consider Sustainability as Where Culture and Technology Meet Increase in demand/price ratio for greater sustainability due to cultural change. $ Supply Greater Value/for impact (Sustainability) and economic growth Equilibrium Shift ECONOMICS We must rapidly move both the supply and demand curves for sustainability Demand Increase in supply/price ratio for more sustainable products due to technical innovation. # A measure of the degree of sustainability is where the demand for more sustainable technologies is met by their supply.

19. Changing the Technology Paradigm It is not so much a matter of “dematerialisation” as a question of changing the underlying moleconomic flows. We need materials that require less energy to make them, do not pollute the environment with CO2 and other releases, last much longerand that contribute properties that reduce lifetime energies. The key is to change the technology paradigms • “By enabling us to make productive use of particular raw materials, technology determines what constitutes a physical resource1” • Pilzer, Paul Zane, Unlimited Wealth, The Theory and Practice of Economic Alchemy, Crown Publishers Inc. New York.1990 Or more simply – the technical paradigm determines what is or is not a resource!

20. Cultural Change is Happening! • Al Gore (SOS) • CSIRO reports • STERN Report • Lots of Talkfest • IPCC Report • Political change • Branson Prize • Live Earth (07/07/07) The media have an important growing role

21. Changing the Techno-Process Take => manipulate => make => use => waste Driven by fossil fuel energy with detrimental environmental effects. By changing the technology paradigms we can change the materials flows and thus the underlying molecular flows. ReduceRe-useRecycle This is biomimicry! <= Materials => Atoms and Molecules in the global commons Moleconomics

22. Learning from Nature (Biomimicry) • Nature is the most frugal economist of all. • The waste from one plant or animal is the food or home for another. • In nature photosynthesis balances respiration and recycling is the norm • By studying nature “we learn who we are, what we are and how we are to be.” (Wright, F.L. 1957:269) • There is a strong need for similar efficiency and balance in our techno-process By learning from Nature we can all live together

23. Biomimicry - Geomimicry • The term biomimicry was popularised by the book of the same name written by Janine Benyus • Biomimicry is a method of solving problems that uses natural processes and systems as a source of knowledge and inspiration. • It involves nature as model, measure and mentor. • Geomimicry is similar to biomimicry but models geological rather than biological processes. The theory behind biomimicry is that natural processes and systems have evolved over several billion years through a process of research and development commonly referred to as evolution. A reoccurring theme in natural systems is the cyclical flow of matter in such a way that there is no waste of matter and very little of energy. Geomicry is a natural extension of biomimicry and applies to geological rather than living processes All natural processes are very economical. We must also be MUCH more economical

24. Biomimicry - Ultimate Recyclers • As peak oil starts to cut in and the price of transport rises sharply • We should not just be recycling based on chemical property requiring transport to large centralised sophisticated and expensive facilities • We should be including CO2 and wastes based on physical properties as well as chemical composition in composites whereby they become local resources. Jackdaws and bower bird recycle all sorts of things they find nearby based on physical property. The birds are not concerned about chemical composition and the nests they make could be described as a composite materials. TecEco cements are benign binders that can incorporate all sort of wastes without reaction problems. We can do the same as the Jackdaw or bower bird

25. Localized Low Transport Embodied Energy Materials No longer an option? As the price of fuel rises, the use of on site low embodied energy materials rather than transported aggregates will have to be considered. We will have to mimic the jackdaw or bower bird. Gaia engineering can be implemented everywhere.

26. Utilizing Carbon and Wastes • During earth's geological history large tonnages of carbon were put away as limestone and other carbonates and as coal and petroleum by the activity of plants and animals. • Sequestering carbon in calcium and magnesium carbonate materials and other wastes in the built environment mimics nature in that carbon is used in the homes or skeletal structures of most plants and animals. CO2 In eco-cement concretes the binder is carbonate and the aggregates are preferably carbonates and wastes. This is “geomimicry” CO2 CO2 C CO2 Waste Pervious pavement

27. Geomimicry • There are 1.2-3 grams of magnesium and about .4 grams of calcium in every litre of seawater. • There is enoughcalcium and magnesiumin seawater with replenishmentto last billions of years at current needs for sequestration. • To survive we must build our homes like these seashells using CO2 and alkali metal cations. This is geomimicry • Carbonate sediments such as these cliffs represent billionsof years of sequestrationand cover 7% of the crust.

28. Geomimicry for Planetary Engineers? • Large tonnages of carbon (7% of the crust) were put away during earth’s geological history as limestone, dolomite and magnesite, mostly by the activity of plants and animals. • Much more than in coal or petroleum! • Shellfish built shells from carbon and trees turn it into wood. • These same plants and animals wasted nothing • The waste from one is the food or home for another. • Because of the colossal size of the flows involved the answer to the problems of greenhouse gas and waste is to use them both.

29. Geomimicry for Planetary Engineers? • Such a paradigm shift in resource usage will not occur because it is the right thing to do. • It can only happen economically. • We must put an economic value on carbon and wastes • inventing new technical paradigms such as offered by TecEco and the Global Sustainability Alliance in Gaia Engineering. • Evolving culturally to effectively use these technical paradigms • By using carbon dioxide and other wastes as building materials we can economically reduce their concentration in the global commons. Materials are very important!

30. Because of the low molecular weight of magnesium, it is ideal for scrubbing CO2 out of the air and sequestering the gas into the built environment: More CO2 is captured than in calcium systems as the calculations below show. At 2.09% of the crust magnesium is the 8th most abundant element Sea-water contains 1.29 g/l compared to calcium at .412 g/l Magnesium materials from Gaia Engineering are potential low cost. New kiln technology from TecEco will enable easy low cost simple non fossil fuel calcination of magnesium carbonate to make binders with CO2 recycling to produce more carbonate building material to be used with these binders. Magnesium compounds have low pH and polar bond in composites making them suitable for the utilisation of other wastes. Why Magnesium Carbonates?

31. Making Carbonate Building Materials to Solve the Global Warming Problem • How much magnesium carbonate would have to be deposited to solve the problem of global warming? • The annual flux of CO2 is around 12 billion tonnes ~= 22.99 billion tonnes magnesite • The density of magnesite is 3 gm/cm3 or 3 tonne/metre3 • 22.9/3 billion cubic metres ~= 7.63 cubic kilometres of magnesite would have to be deposited each year. • Compared to the over seven cubic kilometres of concrete we make every year, the problem of global warming looks surmountable. • If magnesite was our building material of choice and we could make it without releases as is the case with Gaia Engineering, we have the problem as good as solved! We must build with carbonate and waste

32. Why Materials for the Built Environment? • The built environment is made of materials and is our footprint on earth. • It comprises buildings and infrastructure. • Construction materials comprise • 70% of materials flows (buildings, infrastructure etc.) • 40-50% of waste that goes to landfill (15 % of new materials going to site are wasted.) • Around 25 billion tonnes of building materials are used annually on a world wide basis. • Mostly using virgin natural resources • Combined in such a manner that they cannot easily be separated. • Include many toxic elements. Why not use magnesium carbonate building components from Greensols and Eco-Cements from TecEco to bind them together?

33. The Built Environment and Global Sustainability The built environment is our footprint, the major proportion of the techno-sphere and our lasting legacy on the planet. It comprises buildings and infrastructure Source of graphics: Nic Svenningson UNEP SMB2007

34. Building is Going Balistic! Source of graphic: Rick Fedrizzi SMB 2007 The relative impact of the built environment is rising as the East catches up with the West!

35. Huge Potential for More Sustainable Construction Materials • Reducing the impact of the take and waste phases of the techno-process by. • including carbon in materialsthey are potentially carbon sinks. • including wastes forphysical properties aswell as chemical compositionthey become resources. • re engineering materials toreduce the lifetime energyof buildings • A durable low pH high bondingbinder system is requiredfor effective waste utilisationsuch as TecEco Tec andEco-Cements Many wastes including CO2 can contribute to physical properties reducing lifetime energies CO2 CO2 CO2 C CO2 Waste Pervious pavement

36. Gaia Engineering Flowchart Portland CementManufacture CaO TecEcoTec-Kiln Industrial CO2 MgO Clays Fresh Water TecEcoCementManufacture MgCO3 and CaCO3“Stone” Brine or Seawater Greensols Eco-Cements Tec-Cements WasteAcid CaSO4 Buildingcomponents & aggregates Other Valuable Commodity Salts NaHCO3 Other waste Built Environment Building waste

37. The Gaia Engineering Tececology The Gaia Engineering tececology could be thought of as an open technical ecology designed to reverse major damaging moleconomic and other system flows outside the tececology Industrial Ecologies are generally thought of as closed loop systems with minimal or low impacts outside the ecology The Gaia Engineering tececology is not closed and is designed to reverse damaging moleconomic flows outside the ecology - LIKE A GIANT ECOLOGICAL PUMP

38. CO2 CO2 CO2 CO2 The Gaia Engineering Process Gaia Engineering delivers profitable outcomes whilst reversing underlying undesirable moleconomic flows from other less sustainable techno-processes outside the tececology. Inputs: Atmospheric or industrial CO2,brines, waste acid, other wastes Outputs: Carbonate building materials, potable water, gypsum, sodium bicarbonate and other valuable commodity salts. Carbonate building components Solar or solar derived energy TecEcoKiln TecEco MgCO2 Cycle MgO Eco-Cement MgCO3 Greensols Process 1.29 gm/l Mg.412 gm/l Ca Coal Fossil fuels Carbon or carbon compoundsMagnesium compounds Oil

39. Gaia Engineering Introduction • Gaia engineering is a combination of new technologies including • The Greensols process • TecEco’s Tec-Kiln technology and cements • Carbon dioxide scrubbing technologies • TecEco' Eco-Cements • Gaia engineering profitably geomimics past planetary geological processes and adopted on a large scale will: • Sequester significant amounts of atmospheric CO2 • Add value to the salts recoverable from sea water • Convert large volumes of waste to valuable resource • Produce fresh water.

40. Gaia Engineering Summary • Inputs include • Seawater or suitable brine • CO2 • Waste acid • Other wastes of all kinds • A small amount of energy • Outputs include • Gypsum, sodium bicarbonate and various other valuable salts. • Magnesium carbonate building components. • TecEco Tec, Eco and Enviro-Cements. • Waste utlisation. • Fresh water.

41. Gaia Engineering Greensols Seawater Carbonation Process. 1.354 x 109 km3 Seawater containing 1.728 1017 tonne Mg or suitable brines from other sources Waste Acid Gypsum + carbon waste (e.g. sewerage) = fertilizers Bicarbonate of Soda (NaHCO3) CO2 from power generation or industry Gypsum (CaSO4) Sewerage compost Other salts Na+,K+, Ca2+,Cl- Simplified TecEco ReactionsTec-Kiln MgCO3 → MgO + CO2- 118 kJ/moleReactor Process MgO + CO2 → MgCO3+ 118 kJ/mole (usually more complex hydrates) MgO Production using solar energy CO2 + H2O =>Energy rich biomass using blue green algae CO2 from power generation, industry or out of the air (MgCO2) Cycle Magnesite (MgCO3) Magnesia (MgO) Tec-Reactor Hydroxide / Carbonate slurry process Solar Process to Produce Magnesium Metal Sequestration Table – Mg from Seawater CO2 Eco-CementTec-Cement Other Wastes

42. Gaia Engineering InputsBrinesWaste AcidWastesCO2 OutputsGypsum, Sodium bicarbonate, Salts, Building materials, Potable water

43. Seawater Reference Data

44. Greensols Carbon Capture • The hydrogen bonding in water keeps oppositely charged ions from combining. Water “dissolves” them. • Strongly charged ions such as calcium, magnesium and carbonate attract hydration shells of water around them. For example magnesium and calcium ions polar bond to oxygen and the negative carbonate ion polar bonds to hydrogen. These bonds can propagate through several layers of water and are strong enough to prevent the formation of calcium and magnesium carbonates even from supersaturated solutions. • The Greensols process uses waste acid to de-polarise a statistical proportion of water molecules by attaching a proton to them whereby positively charged sodium, calcium or magnesium ions as well as negatively charged ions including carbonate ions are released, can combine and thus precipitate.

45. Greensols Carbon Capture Hydration shelling of water occurs around calcium or magnesium ions because of the strong charge of especially magnesium to the oxygen end of water Similar hydration shelling occurs around the negative carbonate ion through polar bonding to the hydrogen ends of water

46. Greensols Carbon Capture The addition of a proton to water using strong waste acid results in its de polarisation whereby it no longer electronically holds as many ions (sodium, calcium, magnesium or carbonate etc.) statistically releasing them and allowing them to combine and precipitate as carbonates and other more valuable salts leaving behind essentially fresh water

47. Greensols Carbon Capture = + Mg++ + CO3_ _ => MgCO3 The statistical release of both cations and anions results in precipitation of for example magnesium carbonate as shown above.

48. Advantages of Greensols over Reverse Osmosis Tell somebody with influence today!

49. The Tec-Reactor Hydroxide CarbonateSlurry Process • The solubility of carbon dioxide gas in seawater • Increases as the temperature approached zero and • Is at a maxima around 4oC • This phenomenon is related to the chemical nature of CO2 and water and • Can be utilised in a carbonate – hydroxide slurry process to capture CO2 out of the air and release it for storage or use in a controlled manner

50. The MgCO2 Process (Magnesium Thermodynamic Cycle) The MgCO2 (magnesium thermodynamiccycle) is very important for sequestration and results in the formation of valuable building product TOTAL CALCINING ENERGYRelative to MgCO3Theoretical = 1480 kJ.KgWith inefficiencies = 1948 kJ.Kg-1 Tec-Kiln CO2 + H2O =>Hydrocarbons compounds using algae CO2 Magnesite Dehydration Eco-Cements Calcination Representative of other hydrated mineral carbonates CalcificationMgCO3 => MgO + CO2ΔH = 118.28 kJ.mol-1ΔG = 65.92 kJ.mol-1 Magnesia Nesquehonite CarbonationMg(OH)2.nH2O +CO2 +2H2O => MgCO3.3H2OΔH = - 37.04 kJ.molΔG = - 19.55 kJ.mol HydrationMgO + H2O => Mg(OH)2.nH2OΔH = - 81.24 kJ.molΔG = - 35.74 kJ.mol Carbonation Brucite Tec, Eco and Enviro-Cements