TED2018
Jennifer Wilcox: A new way to remove CO2 from the atmosphere
Filmed:
Readability: 4.8
3,117,805 views
Our planet has a carbon problem -- if we don't start removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, we'll grow hotter, faster. Chemical engineer Jennifer Wilcox previews some amazing technology to scrub carbon from the air, using chemical reactions that capture and reuse CO2 in much the same way trees do ... but at a vast scale. This detailed talk reviews both the promise and the pitfalls.
Jennifer Wilcox - Chemical engineer
Jennifer Wilcox works on ways to test and measure methods of trace metal and carbon capture, to mitigate the effects of fossil fuels on our planet. Full bio
Jennifer Wilcox works on ways to test and measure methods of trace metal and carbon capture, to mitigate the effects of fossil fuels on our planet. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
Four hundred parts per million:
0
1087
2334
00:15
that's the approximate concentration
of CO2 in the air today.
of CO2 in the air today.
1
3445
4788
00:20
What does this even mean?
2
8257
1423
00:22
For every 400 molecules of carbon dioxide,
3
10083
3424
00:25
we have another million molecules
of oxygen and nitrogen.
of oxygen and nitrogen.
4
13531
4513
00:30
In this room today,
there are about 1,800 of us.
there are about 1,800 of us.
5
18068
3901
00:33
Imagine just one of us
was wearing a green shirt,
was wearing a green shirt,
6
21993
3833
00:37
and you're asked to find
that single person.
that single person.
7
25850
2814
00:41
That's the challenge we're facing
when capturing CO2
when capturing CO2
8
29224
3719
00:44
directly out of the air.
9
32967
1578
00:47
Sounds pretty easy,
10
35357
1426
00:48
pulling CO2 out of the air.
11
36807
2392
00:51
It's actually really difficult.
12
39223
1543
00:52
But I'll tell you what is easy:
13
40790
1820
00:54
avoiding CO2 emissions to begin with.
14
42634
3431
00:58
But we're not doing that.
15
46701
1616
01:01
So now what we have to think
about is going back;
about is going back;
16
49289
4001
01:05
pulling CO2 back out of the air.
17
53314
2970
01:08
Even though it's difficult,
it's actually possible to do this.
it's actually possible to do this.
18
56663
3875
01:12
And I'm going to share with you today
where this technology is at
where this technology is at
19
60983
3569
01:16
and where it just may be heading
in the near future.
in the near future.
20
64576
2689
01:20
Now, the earth naturally
removes CO2 from the air
removes CO2 from the air
21
68106
4830
01:24
by seawater, soils, plants and even rocks.
22
72960
4653
01:29
And although engineers and scientists
are doing the invaluable work
are doing the invaluable work
23
77637
4718
01:34
to accelerate these natural processes,
24
82379
3252
01:37
it simply won't be enough.
25
85655
2040
01:39
The good news is, we have more.
26
87719
2354
01:42
Thanks to human ingenuity,
we have the technology today
we have the technology today
27
90097
3814
01:45
to remove CO2 out of the air
28
93935
3288
01:49
using a chemically manufactured approach.
29
97247
2605
01:51
I like to think of this
as a synthetic forest.
as a synthetic forest.
30
99876
3265
01:55
There are two basic approaches
to growing or building such a forest.
to growing or building such a forest.
31
103165
5320
02:00
One is using CO2-grabbing chemicals
dissolved in water.
dissolved in water.
32
108509
5104
02:05
Another is using solid materials
with CO2-grabbing chemicals.
with CO2-grabbing chemicals.
33
113637
3854
02:09
No matter which approach you choose,
they basically look the same.
they basically look the same.
34
117515
3483
02:13
So what I'm showing you here
is what a system might look like
is what a system might look like
35
121799
3793
02:17
to do just this.
36
125616
1461
02:19
This is called an air contactor.
37
127101
2237
02:21
You can see it has to be
really, really wide
really, really wide
38
129362
2286
02:23
in order to have
a high enough surface area
a high enough surface area
39
131672
2158
02:25
to process all of the air required,
40
133854
2716
02:28
because remember,
41
136594
1152
02:29
we're trying to capture
just 400 molecules out of a million.
just 400 molecules out of a million.
42
137770
3978
02:34
Using the liquid-based
approach to do this,
approach to do this,
43
142293
2971
02:37
you take this high surface area
packing material,
packing material,
44
145288
2366
02:39
you fill the contactor
with the packing material,
with the packing material,
45
147678
2821
02:42
you use pumps to distribute liquid
across the packing material,
across the packing material,
46
150523
4672
02:47
and you can use fans,
as you can see in the front,
as you can see in the front,
47
155219
2911
02:50
to bubble the air through the liquid.
48
158154
2441
02:53
The CO2 in the air
is separated from the liquid
is separated from the liquid
49
161173
3812
02:57
by reacting with the really strong-binding
CO2 molecules in solution.
CO2 molecules in solution.
50
165009
6659
03:03
And in order to capture a lot of CO2,
51
171692
2662
03:06
you have to make this contactor deeper.
52
174378
2569
03:09
But there's an optimization,
53
177420
1381
03:10
because the deeper
you make that contactor,
you make that contactor,
54
178825
2046
03:12
the more energy you're spending
on bubbling all that air through.
on bubbling all that air through.
55
180895
3685
03:17
So air contactors for direct air capture
have this unique characteristic design,
have this unique characteristic design,
56
185055
4354
03:21
where they have this huge surface area,
but a relatively thin thickness.
but a relatively thin thickness.
57
189433
4322
03:26
And now once you've captured the CO2,
58
194178
2627
03:29
you have to be able to recycle
that material that you used to capture it,
that material that you used to capture it,
59
197527
3881
03:33
over and over again.
60
201432
1539
03:34
The scale of carbon capture is so enormous
61
202995
2987
03:38
that the capture process
must be sustainable,
must be sustainable,
62
206006
2208
03:40
and you can't use a material just once.
63
208238
2080
03:42
And so recycling the material requires
an enormous amount of heat,
an enormous amount of heat,
64
210758
4223
03:47
because think about it:
CO2 is so dilute in the air,
CO2 is so dilute in the air,
65
215005
3256
03:50
that material is binding it really strong,
66
218285
2850
03:53
and so you need a lot of heat
in order to recycle the material.
in order to recycle the material.
67
221159
3837
03:57
And to recycle the material
with that heat,
with that heat,
68
225407
2663
04:00
what happens is that concentrated CO2
that you got from dilute CO2 in the air
that you got from dilute CO2 in the air
69
228094
5793
04:05
is now released,
70
233911
1593
04:07
and you produce high-purity CO2.
71
235528
2474
04:10
And that's really important,
72
238417
1723
04:12
because high-purity CO2
is easier to liquify,
is easier to liquify,
73
240164
4202
04:16
easier to transport, whether
it's in a pipeline or a truck,
it's in a pipeline or a truck,
74
244390
3164
04:19
or even easier to use directly,
75
247578
2221
04:21
say, as a fuel or a chemical.
76
249823
2588
04:25
So I want to talk a little bit more
about that energy.
about that energy.
77
253033
3778
04:28
The heat required to regenerate
or recycle these materials
or recycle these materials
78
256835
4213
04:33
absolutely dictates the energy
and the subsequent cost of doing this.
and the subsequent cost of doing this.
79
261072
6453
04:40
So I ask a question:
80
268834
1928
04:42
How much energy do you think it takes
81
270786
2858
04:45
to remove a million tons
of CO2 from the air
of CO2 from the air
82
273668
3741
04:49
in a given year?
83
277433
1358
04:51
The answer is: a power plant.
84
279343
1811
04:53
It takes a power plant
to capture CO2 directly from the air.
to capture CO2 directly from the air.
85
281178
3669
04:56
Depending on which approach you choose,
86
284871
1884
04:58
the power plant could be on the order
of 300 to 500 megawatts.
of 300 to 500 megawatts.
87
286779
4418
05:03
And you have to be careful about
what kind of power plant you choose.
what kind of power plant you choose.
88
291847
3809
05:07
If you choose coal,
89
295680
1677
05:09
you end up emitting more CO2
than you capture.
than you capture.
90
297381
3578
05:13
Now let's talk about costs.
91
301509
1823
05:15
An energy-intensive version
of this technology
of this technology
92
303356
3474
05:18
could cost you as much
as $1,000 a ton
as $1,000 a ton
93
306854
3091
05:21
just to capture it.
94
309969
1349
05:24
Let's translate that.
95
312183
1360
05:26
If you were to take that very expensive
CO2 and convert it to a liquid fuel,
CO2 and convert it to a liquid fuel,
96
314128
4015
05:30
that comes out to 50 dollars a gallon.
97
318167
2337
05:33
That's way too expensive;
it's not feasible.
it's not feasible.
98
321179
2534
05:35
So how could we bring these costs down?
99
323737
2411
05:38
That's, in part, the work that I do.
100
326172
2472
05:41
There's a company today,
a commercial-scale company,
a commercial-scale company,
101
329771
2719
05:44
that can do this as low
as 600 dollars a ton.
as 600 dollars a ton.
102
332514
2689
05:47
There are several other companies
that are developing technologies
that are developing technologies
103
335227
3781
05:51
that can do this even cheaper than that.
104
339032
2125
05:53
I'm going to talk to you a little bit
105
341583
1769
05:55
about a few of these different companies.
106
343376
1973
05:57
One is called Carbon Engineering.
107
345373
1668
05:59
They're based out of Canada.
108
347065
1468
06:00
They use a liquid-based
approach for separation
approach for separation
109
348557
2893
06:03
combined with burning
super-abundant, cheap natural gas
super-abundant, cheap natural gas
110
351474
4265
06:07
to supply the heat required.
111
355763
2335
06:10
They have a clever approach
112
358122
1684
06:11
that allows them to co-capture
the CO2 from the air
the CO2 from the air
113
359830
4290
06:16
and the CO2 that they generate
from burning the natural gas.
from burning the natural gas.
114
364144
3959
06:20
And so by doing this,
115
368127
1802
06:21
they offset excess pollution
and they reduce costs.
and they reduce costs.
116
369953
3418
06:26
Switzerland-based Climeworks
and US-based Global Thermostat
and US-based Global Thermostat
117
374006
4046
06:30
use a different approach.
118
378076
1603
06:31
They use solid materials for capture.
119
379703
2609
06:34
Climeworks uses heat from the earth,
120
382336
2783
06:37
or geothermal,
121
385143
1413
06:38
or even excess steam
from other industrial processes
from other industrial processes
122
386580
3112
06:41
to cut down on pollution and costs.
123
389716
2359
06:44
Global Thermostat
takes a different approach.
takes a different approach.
124
392759
2200
06:46
They focus on the heat required
125
394983
2847
06:49
and the speed in which it moves
through the material
through the material
126
397854
3673
06:53
so that they're able to release
and produce that CO2
and produce that CO2
127
401551
4679
06:58
at a really fast rate,
128
406254
1775
07:00
which allows them to have
a more compact design
a more compact design
129
408053
3355
07:03
and overall cheaper costs.
130
411432
2001
07:06
And there's more still.
131
414806
1894
07:08
A synthetic forest has a significant
advantage over a real forest: size.
advantage over a real forest: size.
132
416724
5492
07:14
This next image that I'm showing you
is a map of the Amazon rainforest.
is a map of the Amazon rainforest.
133
422899
3809
07:18
The Amazon is capable of capturing
1.6 billion tons of CO2 each year.
1.6 billion tons of CO2 each year.
134
426732
6079
07:24
This is the equivalent
of roughly 25 percent
of roughly 25 percent
135
432835
3379
07:28
of our annual emissions in the US.
136
436238
2295
07:31
The land area required
for a synthetic forest
for a synthetic forest
137
439007
2935
07:33
or a manufactured direct air capture plant
138
441966
2297
07:36
to capture the same
139
444287
1432
07:37
is 500 times smaller.
140
445743
2088
07:41
In addition, for a synthetic forest,
141
449180
3047
07:44
you don't have to build it on arable land,
142
452251
2865
07:47
so there's no competition
with farmland or food,
with farmland or food,
143
455140
4271
07:51
and there's also no reason
to have to cut down any real trees
to have to cut down any real trees
144
459435
4994
07:56
to do this.
145
464453
1261
07:58
I want to step back,
146
466570
1780
08:00
and I want to bring up the concept
of negative emissions again.
of negative emissions again.
147
468374
3566
08:04
Negative emissions require
that the CO2 separated
that the CO2 separated
148
472394
3569
08:07
be permanently removed
from the atmosphere forever,
from the atmosphere forever,
149
475987
4387
08:12
which means putting it back underground,
150
480398
2722
08:15
where it came from in the first place.
151
483144
2369
08:17
But let's face it, nobody
gets paid to do that today --
gets paid to do that today --
152
485537
3539
08:21
at least not enough.
153
489100
1358
08:23
So the companies that are developing
these technologies
these technologies
154
491009
3488
08:26
are actually interested in taking the CO2
155
494521
2477
08:29
and making something useful
out of it, a marketable product.
out of it, a marketable product.
156
497022
3147
08:32
It could be liquid fuels, plastics
157
500193
3580
08:35
or even synthetic gravel.
158
503797
1746
08:38
And don't get me wrong --
these carbon markets are great.
these carbon markets are great.
159
506043
3166
08:42
But I also don't want you
to be disillusioned.
to be disillusioned.
160
510550
2718
08:45
These are not large enough
to solve our climate crisis,
to solve our climate crisis,
161
513292
3729
08:49
and so what we need to do
is we need to actually think about
is we need to actually think about
162
517045
3833
08:52
what it could take.
163
520902
1477
08:54
One thing I'll absolutely say
is positive about the carbon markets
is positive about the carbon markets
164
522403
3979
08:58
is that they allow for new
capture plants to be built,
capture plants to be built,
165
526406
4592
09:03
and with every capture plant built,
166
531022
1903
09:04
we learn more.
167
532949
1452
09:06
And when we learn more,
168
534425
1511
09:07
we have an opportunity
to bring costs down.
to bring costs down.
169
535960
2724
09:11
But we also need to be willing to invest
170
539914
3527
09:15
as a global society.
171
543465
1656
09:18
We could have all of the clever thinking
and technology in the world,
and technology in the world,
172
546534
3374
09:21
but it's not going to be enough
173
549932
1635
09:23
in order for this technology
to have a significant impact on climate.
to have a significant impact on climate.
174
551591
4879
09:28
We really need regulation,
175
556494
2182
09:30
we need subsidies,
176
558700
1533
09:32
taxes on carbon.
177
560257
2193
09:34
There are a few of us that would
absolutely be willing to pay more,
absolutely be willing to pay more,
178
562474
4810
09:39
but what will be required
179
567308
2394
09:41
is for carbon-neutral,
carbon-negative paths
carbon-negative paths
180
569726
2693
09:44
to be affordable for
the majority of society
the majority of society
181
572443
2689
09:47
in order to impact climate.
182
575156
1777
09:49
In addition to those kinds of investments,
183
577403
2573
09:52
we also need investments
in research and development.
in research and development.
184
580000
3608
09:55
So what might that look like?
185
583632
1557
09:57
In 1966, the US invested about
a half a percent of gross domestic product
a half a percent of gross domestic product
186
585865
6280
10:04
in the Apollo program.
187
592169
1495
10:06
It got people safely to the moon
188
594568
2852
10:09
and back to the earth.
189
597444
1447
10:11
Half a percent of GDP today
is about 100 billion dollars.
is about 100 billion dollars.
190
599464
3529
10:15
So knowing that direct air capture
191
603522
2729
10:18
is one front in our fight
against climate change,
against climate change,
192
606275
3203
10:21
imagine that we could invest
20 percent, 20 billion dollars.
20 percent, 20 billion dollars.
193
609502
3608
10:25
Further, let's imagine
that we could get the costs down
that we could get the costs down
194
613848
2881
10:28
to a 100 dollars a ton.
195
616753
1673
10:31
That's going to be hard,
but it's part of what makes my job fun.
but it's part of what makes my job fun.
196
619274
3772
10:35
And so what does that look like,
197
623897
1541
10:37
20 billion dollars,100 dollars a ton?
198
625462
2321
10:39
That requires us to build
200 synthetic forests,
200 synthetic forests,
199
627807
3124
10:42
each capable of capturing
a million tons of CO2 per year.
a million tons of CO2 per year.
200
630955
5686
10:48
That adds up to about five percent
of US annual emissions.
of US annual emissions.
201
636665
4052
10:53
It doesn't sound like much.
202
641235
1459
10:55
Turns out, it's actually significant.
203
643226
2114
10:57
If you look at the emissions
associated with long-haul trucking
associated with long-haul trucking
204
645364
3454
11:00
and commercial aircraft,
205
648842
1732
11:02
they add up to about five percent.
206
650598
2058
11:05
Our dependence on liquid fuels
makes these emissions
makes these emissions
207
653458
3665
11:09
really difficult to avoid.
208
657147
2573
11:11
So this investment
could absolutely be significant.
could absolutely be significant.
209
659744
4815
11:17
Now, what would it take
in terms of land area to do this,
in terms of land area to do this,
210
665496
3103
11:20
200 plants?
211
668623
1338
11:22
It turns out that they would take up
about half the land area of Vancouver.
about half the land area of Vancouver.
212
670406
4311
11:26
That's if they were fueled by natural gas.
213
674741
2096
11:28
But remember the downside
of natural gas -- it also emits CO2.
of natural gas -- it also emits CO2.
214
676861
4672
11:33
So if you use natural gas
to do direct air capture,
to do direct air capture,
215
681557
2897
11:36
you only end up capturing
about a third of what's intended,
about a third of what's intended,
216
684478
3761
11:40
unless you have that
clever approach of co-capture
clever approach of co-capture
217
688263
2563
11:42
that Carbon Engineering does.
218
690850
1618
11:45
And so if we had an alternative approach
219
693253
2179
11:47
and used wind or solar to do this,
220
695456
2831
11:50
the land area would be
about 15 times larger,
about 15 times larger,
221
698311
3588
11:53
looking at the state of New Jersey now.
222
701923
2010
11:56
One of the things that I think about
in my work and my research
in my work and my research
223
704360
3532
11:59
is optimizing and figuring out
where we should put these plants
where we should put these plants
224
707916
3925
12:03
and think about
the local resources available --
the local resources available --
225
711865
2653
12:06
whether it's land, water,
cheap and clean electricity --
cheap and clean electricity --
226
714542
3675
12:10
because, for instance,
you can use clean electricity
you can use clean electricity
227
718241
2702
12:12
to split water to produce hydrogen,
228
720967
2185
12:15
which is an excellent, carbon-free
replacement for natural gas,
replacement for natural gas,
229
723176
3881
12:19
to supply the heat required.
230
727081
1750
12:22
But I want us to reflect a little bit
again on negative emissions.
again on negative emissions.
231
730212
3772
12:26
Negative emissions should not be
considered a silver bullet,
considered a silver bullet,
232
734420
3553
12:29
but they may help us
if we continue to stall
if we continue to stall
233
737997
2503
12:32
at cutting down on CO2
pollution worldwide.
pollution worldwide.
234
740524
3259
12:36
But that's also why we have to be careful.
235
744441
3034
12:39
This approach is so alluring
that it can even be risky,
that it can even be risky,
236
747499
2977
12:42
as some may cling onto it as some kind
of total solution to our climate crisis.
of total solution to our climate crisis.
237
750500
4974
12:47
It may tempt people to continue
to burn fossil fuels 24 hours a day,
to burn fossil fuels 24 hours a day,
238
755982
5455
12:53
365 days a year.
239
761461
2174
12:55
I argue that we should not
see negative emissions
see negative emissions
240
763659
3206
12:58
as a replacement for stopping pollution,
241
766889
1928
13:00
but rather, as an addition to an existing
portfolio that includes everything,
portfolio that includes everything,
242
768841
5771
13:06
from increased energy efficiency
243
774636
1775
13:08
to low-energy carbon
244
776435
1714
13:10
to improved farming --
245
778173
1633
13:11
will all collectively get us on a path
to net-zero emissions one day.
to net-zero emissions one day.
246
779830
5001
13:17
A little bit of self-reflection:
247
785909
1826
13:20
my husband is an emergency physician.
248
788481
2508
13:23
And I find myself amazed
by the lifesaving work
by the lifesaving work
249
791727
3545
13:27
that he and his colleagues
do each and every day.
do each and every day.
250
795296
3297
13:31
Yet when I talk to them
about my work on carbon capture,
about my work on carbon capture,
251
799235
3933
13:35
I find that they're equally amazed,
252
803192
2262
13:37
and that's because combatting
climate change by capturing carbon
climate change by capturing carbon
253
805896
4773
13:42
isn't just about saving a polar bear
254
810693
2058
13:44
or a glacier.
255
812775
1166
13:45
It's about saving human lives.
256
813965
1670
13:49
A synthetic forest may not ever be
as pretty as a real one,
as pretty as a real one,
257
817905
5017
13:54
but it could just enable us
to preserve not only the Amazon,
to preserve not only the Amazon,
258
822946
3619
13:58
but all of the people
259
826589
1460
14:00
that we love and cherish,
260
828073
2370
14:02
as well as all of our future generations
261
830467
4662
14:07
and modern civilization.
262
835153
1662
14:08
Thank you.
263
836839
1153
14:10
(Applause)
264
838016
4223
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jennifer Wilcox - Chemical engineerJennifer Wilcox works on ways to test and measure methods of trace metal and carbon capture, to mitigate the effects of fossil fuels on our planet.
Why you should listen
Jennifer Wilcox is the James H. Manning Chaired Professor of Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Having grown up in rural Maine, she has a profound respect and appreciation of nature, which permeates her work as she focuses on minimizing negative impacts of humankind on our natural environment.
Wilcox's research takes aim at the nexus of energy and the environment, developing both mitigation and adaptation strategies to minimize negative climate impacts associated with society's dependence on fossil fuels. This work carefully examines the role of carbon management and opportunities therein that could assist in preventing 2° C warming by 2100. Carbon management includes a mix of technologies spanning from the direct removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to its capture from industrial, utility-scale and micro-emitter (motor vehicle) exhaust streams, followed by utilization or reliable storage of carbon dioxide on a timescale and magnitude that will have a positive impact on our current climate change crisis. Funding for her research is primarily sourced through the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy and the private sector. She has served on a number of committees including the National Academy of Sciences and the American Physical Society to assess carbon capture methods and impacts on climate. She is the author of the first textbook on carbon capture, published in March 2012.
Jennifer Wilcox | Speaker | TED.com