Jennifer Wilcox: A new way to remove CO2 from the atmosphere
Jennifer Wilcoxová: Nový spôsob odstraňovania CO2 z atmosféry
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.
of CO2 in the air today.
koncentrácie častíc CO2 vo vzduchu.
of oxygen and nitrogen.
there are about 1,800 of us.
was wearing a green shirt,
má na sebe zelené tričko
that single person.
when capturing CO2
ktorej čelíme pri zachytávaní CO2
about is going back;
rozmýšľať nad tým, že sa vrátime späť,
it's actually possible to do this.
where this technology is at
sa táto technológia nachádza
in the near future.
removes CO2 from the air
are doing the invaluable work
robia neoceniteľnú prácu,
we have the technology today
máme dnes technológiu
as a synthetic forest.
ako syntetický les.
to growing or building such a forest.
alebo vybudovanie takého lesa.
dissolved in water.
ktorý zachytáva CO2.
with CO2-grabbing chemicals.
chemikálií v pevných materiáloch.
they basically look the same.
vyzerajú skoro rovnako.
is what a system might look like
približnú podobu systému,
really, really wide
a high enough surface area
just 400 molecules out of a million.
approach to do this,
packing material,
with the packing material,
across the packing material,
as you can see in the front,
ako to vidíte vpredu,
is separated from the liquid
CO2 molecules in solution.
ho na seba silne naviažu.
you make that contactor,
on bubbling all that air through.
na pretlačenie vzduchu cezeň.
have this unique characteristic design,
majú unikátny charakteristický dizajn,
but a relatively thin thickness.
ale sú relatívne tenké.
that material that you used to capture it,
ktorý ste použili na jeho zachytenie
must be sustainable,
an enormous amount of heat,
obrovské množstvo tepla.
CO2 is so dilute in the air,
CO2 je tak zriedený vo vzduchu,
in order to recycle the material.
potrebujete veľa tepla.
with that heat,
that you got from dilute CO2 in the air
získané zo zriedeného CO2 vo vzduchu
is easier to liquify,
je jednoduchšie skvapalniť,
it's in a pipeline or a truck,
about that energy.
or recycle these materials
či recykláciu týchto materiálov
and the subsequent cost of doing this.
a výdavky na tento proces.
of CO2 from the air
to capture CO2 directly from the air.
na zachytenie CO2 priamo zo vzduchu.
of 300 to 500 megawatts.
300 až 500 megawattov.
what kind of power plant you choose.
akú elektráreň si vyberiete.
than you capture.
of this technology
verzia tejto technológie
as $1,000 a ton
asi 1 000 dolárov za tonu,
CO2 and convert it to a liquid fuel,
a premenili ho na tekuté palivo,
it's not feasible.
a commercial-scale company,
as 600 dollars a ton.
za 600 dolárov za tonu.
that are developing technologies
skúmajúcich nové technológie,
postup s tekutým základom,
approach for separation
super-abundant, cheap natural gas
a lacného zemného plynu,
the CO2 from the air
from burning the natural gas.
and they reduce costs.
a znižujú náklady.
and US-based Global Thermostat
a Global Thermostat v USA
from other industrial processes
z inej priemyselnej výroby
takes a different approach.
through the material
and produce that CO2
vypustiť a vyprodukovať CO2
a more compact design
advantage over a real forest: size.
oproti skutočnému lesu, veľkosť.
is a map of the Amazon rainforest.
mapu Amazonského pralesa.
1.6 billion tons of CO2 each year.
zachytiť 1,6 miliardy ton CO2.
of roughly 25 percent
for a synthetic forest
na priame zachytávanie vzduchu
with farmland or food,
s farmárskou pôdou alebo jedlom,
to have to cut down any real trees
na stínanie skutočných stromov
of negative emissions again.
koncept negatívnych emisií.
that the CO2 separated
aby oddelené CO2
from the atmosphere forever,
z atmosféry už navždy,
gets paid to do that today --
nikomu za to dnes neplatia,
these technologies
ktoré vyvíjajú tieto technológie,
out of it, a marketable product.
predajného produktu.
these carbon markets are great.
to be disillusioned.
aby ste boli sklamaní.
to solve our climate crisis,
aby vyriešili klimatickú krízu,
is we need to actually think about
že sa zamyslíme
is positive about the carbon markets
na trhoch s karbónom je,
capture plants to be built,
nových elektrární na zachytávanie
to bring costs down.
and technology in the world,
zmýšľanie a technológiu na svete,
to have a significant impact on climate.
významný vplyv na klímu.
absolutely be willing to pay more,
určite ochotní zaplatiť viac,
carbon-negative paths
uhlíkovo negatívne spôsoby
the majority of society
pre väčšinu spoločnosti,
in research and development.
do prieskumu a rozvoja.
a half a percent of gross domestic product
pol percenta z hrubého domáceho produktu
is about 100 billion dollars.
je dnes asi 100 miliárd dolárov.
against climate change,
proti klimatickým zmenám,
20 percent, 20 billion dollars.
investovať 20 %, 20 miliárd dolárov.
that we could get the costs down
že by sme mohli znížiť náklady
but it's part of what makes my job fun.
je moja práca zaujímavá.
200 synthetic forests,
200 syntetických lesov,
a million tons of CO2 per year.
milión ton CO2 ročne.
of US annual emissions.
associated with long-haul trucking
spojené s diaľkovou dopravou
makes these emissions
na tekutých palivách
could absolutely be significant.
byť určite významná.
in terms of land area to do this,
about half the land area of Vancouver.
of natural gas -- it also emits CO2.
zemného plynu, tiež vytvára CO2.
to do direct air capture,
na zachytávanie vzduchu,
about a third of what's intended,
z toho, čo je potrebné,
clever approach of co-capture
postup zachytávania
about 15 times larger,
ktorú v práci a výskume riešim,
in my work and my research
where we should put these plants
kde by sme tieto elektrárne mali dať,
the local resources available --
miestnych zdrojoch,
cheap and clean electricity --
lacná a čistá elektrina,
you can use clean electricity
replacement for natural gas,
bezuhlíkovou náhradou za zemný plyn,
again on negative emissions.
poukázať na negatívne emisie.
considered a silver bullet,
považovať za všeliek,
if we continue to stall
pollution worldwide.
that it can even be risky,
že môže byť aj riskantný,
of total solution to our climate crisis.
ako úplného riešenia klimatickej krízy.
to burn fossil fuels 24 hours a day,
so spaľovaním fosílnych palív každý deň,
see negative emissions
portfolio that includes everything,
portfóliu, ktoré zahŕňa všetko,
to net-zero emissions one day.
dostane k nulovým emisiám.
by the lifesaving work
ktorá zachraňuje životy.
do each and every day.
about my work on carbon capture,
o mojej práci o zachytávaní uhlíka,
climate change by capturing carbon
zmenami zachytávaním karbónu
as pretty as a real one,
nebude taký pekný ako ten pravý,
to preserve not only the Amazon,
zachovať nielen Amazonský prales,
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