A Global Geo-Engineering Proposal to Control Atmospheric CO 2 H. Keith Henson

1. A Global Geo-Engineering Proposal to Control Atmospheric CO2H. Keith Henson

2. A Comprehensive Solution to Energy and Climate Problems Utilizing Space ResourcesH. Keith Henson,Founder L5 Society

3. Scope of the problem • 27 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year from producing energy (27 cubic km)‏ • About half from oil and gas, half from coal

5. About half of the 27 cubic kms shows up in the atmosphere, the rest is presumed to dissolve in the oceans.

6. Atmospheric CO2 ~3000 Bt • 300 ppm is ~3000 Bt • 1ppm is ~ 10Bt • Rising ~1.5 ppm/yr, 15Bt/yr (2 ton per person per year) • 27 Bt produced/yr • 400ppm to 300ppm is ~1000 Bt

7. Getting worse, not better • The non intentional effects from the developing world's raising standard of living (such as increased ownership of automobiles) are expected to be even more of a problem.

8. Coal use in China, almost all for power plants, has already surpassed the US and the EU. (28% in two years)‏ • China and India are likely to totally dominate the problem with their coal power plant building program

9. Reasons to Control CO2 • Global warming, more generally climate change • Ocean acidification (which is more certain than climate change)‏

10. “Control” means more than blind reduction. For example, an engineered plant that tied up carbon as diamond or polyethylenecould not be switched off if the CO2 level went too low.

11. FirstWe Need toQuit BurningFossil Fuels

12. We have to anyway

13. Failing to replace the energy has dire consequences (at least some think so)‏

14. Mitigation Needs Energy • Geo-Engineering problem is to make these sources go away by technical means • To end use of fossil fuels, a replacement of 15-30 TW is needed

15. More Energy to scrub CO2 out of the atmosphere • 1 TW will remove 100 ppm, 1000 billion tons, in 12 years (storage problems) • Converting CO2 back to hydrocarbons for storage requires 50 TW

16. Why make expensive synthetic oil to store carbon? • Liquid hydrocarbons are easy to move in pipelines, there is existing infrastructure at the appropriate scale, and there are empty oil fields to hold it. These are known to have held oil for millions of years..

17. Where to get this much energy? • 50 TW is 3-4 times current human use. • Only three energy sources look like they could scale large enough, fusion, nuclear, and power satellites.

18. Possible Energy Sources • Fusion is not ready • Nuclear has well known problems • Power satellites have been explored for 40 years. They have failed on the cost to lift millions of tons to GEO.

19. The new idea in this presentation is: A way to raise a million tons a year to GEO at a cost of less than $100/kg. This gives space based solar power for a penny a kWh, synthetic fuels made from that power for $1 a gallon, and energy to put carbon back in the ground

20. Replacing Fossil Fuels • Subgoals: • Penny a kWh power • $30/bbl synthetic oil • $1 a gallon synthetic fuel

21. From Here to There • Making synthetic fuel • Getting low cost power from power satellites • $100/kg to GEO • Removing carbon from air or • Brute force climate control

22. Combustion: Hydrocarbons plus oxygen gives water plus CO2 Synthetic fuel

23. CO2 + 3 H2 gives you Hydrocarbons—exothermic (56 percent of input energy is in the hydrocarbons)‏ Reverse Combustion

24. Recipe for 1000 bbls of synthetic oil/day (140t/d)‏ • Carbon 120t (5t /hr)‏ • Hydrogen 60t (2.5t/hr)‏ • 40t of hydrogen combines with oxygen making water and is recycled.

25. Where do we get the carbon? • Coal--US consumption • Biomass--carbon neutral • Air--best and might be the least expensive if energy is really cheap

26. Direct capture of CO2 from ambient air • 20t/yr/m2 x 12/44/365d/yr =0.0149t/d/m2 • 120t/d/0.0149t/d/m2 = 8000m2 • http://www.ucalgary.ca/~keith/AirCapture.html

27. 100kWh/ton of CO2 • 366kWh/t of carbon. • 5t/hr / .36 MWh/t = 1.8MW • What about the Hydrogen?

29. 155 m3/hr, at 90 g/m3, 14kg/hr.14 kg/hr x 48kWh/kg = 672kW2.5t/h x 48MWh/ton = 120MWTheory is 33MWh/t, 83 MW—call it a 100MW for hydrogen for 1000 bbls/day vs 1.8 MW for carbon from air--50 times as much

30. Given CO2 and hydrogen: • First use 1/3rd of the hydrogen in the reverse water gas shift reaction. CO2 plus H2 gives CO plus water • Energy released 41 j/mole • Add in the rest of the hydrogen to make synthesis gas

31. “Synthesis gas, carbon monoxide and hydrogen, is converted into liquid hyrocarbons.” Fischer-Tropsch

33. http://www.velocys.com/technology/video.php Another approach

34. Equipment cost? Sasol’s • 34,000bbl/day plant, $1 B • $30,000/bbl • 300 days a year, $100/bbl of capacity • 10 year write off $10/bbl • NOT counting the CO2 capture plant

35. 2.4 MWh/bbl of synthetic oil. At 10 cents/kWh, $240/bbl, $6-8/gal fuel. At penny a kWh, $24/bbl The energy cost is in making hydrogen

36. US Oil use is 20 Mbbls/day • 100 MW  1000bbls/day • 100 GW  1 Mbbls/day • 2000 GW  20 Mbbls/day • 4 times the current US electrical capacity

37. But at an installation rate of 500 GW/year it takes only 4 years for enough power to replace all the oil the US uses. Five years if we replace the coal power plants first. 2 TW is a lot of power

38. The only source that scales into 500GW/yr at low unit cost is solar power satellites (potentially anyway)‏ (Talk break)

41. Another configuration

42. Rectenna

43. What does it take to get penny/kWh power? • 8000 hr/year, $80/year revenue • $800 for a ten years pay off • An installed kW should not cost more than ~$800 • Compare, nuclear plants at $5000 to $8000/kw

44. If half the cost is rectenna and parts and the power sat mass is 4kg/kW then lift cost for 4kg can’t exceed $400 or$100/kg.Current rocket launch to GEO at $20,000/kg is about 200 times too expensive.

45. Is lift cost to GEO of $100/kg even possible? • For a 100t/hr moving cable space elevator: • Energy cost would be 15 cents/kg. • Capital charge at an installed cost of $100 billion would be $10 billion/0.8 billion kg or $12.50/kg. • 100,000 t cable, 2%/day, 1000mph

47. http://www.ilr.tu-berlin.de/koelle/Neptun/NEP2015.pdf

48. Energy and cost for Rockets • Neptune rocket puts 350 tons in LEO, 100 tons to GEO • Fuel cost about $5/kg • Energy payback 40 days (not bad)‏ http://htyp.org/Hundred_dollars_a_kg/Note_1

49. Cost about $1.5 B + $1.5 B operation • Rating 100 flights. • 100 tons to GEO/flight. I.e., a 10,000 ton power sat lift cost $3 billion or $300/kg.

50. Still three-six times too expensive. • Boggle factor, • Launch every hour, • Twice the size of Saturn V