Jennifer Wilcox: A new way to remove CO2 from the atmosphere
珍妮佛 威爾考克斯: 從大氣中除去二氧化碳的新方法
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
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of CO2 in the air today.
二氧化碳的大約濃度。
of oxygen and nitrogen.
there are about 1,800 of us.
我們大約有 1800 人,
was wearing a green shirt,
只有一人穿綠色上衣,
that single person.
when capturing CO2
捕獲空氣中的二氧化碳時,
about is going back;
it's actually possible to do this.
where this technology is at
這項技術的現況,
in the near future.
它可能的發展方向。
removes CO2 from the air
把二氧化碳從空氣中除去,
和甚至石頭來做這件事。
are doing the invaluable work
we have the technology today
我們現在有技術
as a synthetic forest.
to growing or building such a forest.
有兩種基本的方式:
dissolved in water.
抓取二氧化碳的化學物質。
with CO2-grabbing chemicals.
內含有能抓取二氧化碳的化學物質。
they basically look the same.
基本上它們看起來是一樣的。
is what a system might look like
really, really wide
a high enough surface area
just 400 molecules out of a million.
捕集四百個分子。
approach to do this,
packing material,
with the packing material,
across the packing material,
as you can see in the front,
is separated from the liquid
CO2 molecules in solution.
二氧化碳分子發生作用。
you make that contactor,
on bubbling all that air through.
have this unique characteristic design,
在設計上有這項獨特的特徵,
but a relatively thin thickness.
厚度相對就很薄。
that material that you used to capture it,
must be sustainable,
an enormous amount of heat,
CO2 is so dilute in the air,
二氧化碳會被稀釋,
in order to recycle the material.
才能回收那些材料。
with that heat,
that you got from dilute CO2 in the air
二氧化碳所取得的濃縮二氧化碳
is easier to liquify,
it's in a pipeline or a truck,
不論是透過管線或是卡車都一樣,
about that energy.
我想要再多談一點。
or recycle these materials
and the subsequent cost of doing this.
和做這件事的後續成本。
of CO2 from the air
to capture CO2 directly from the air.
捕集空氣中的二氧化碳。
of 300 to 500 megawatts.
what kind of power plant you choose.
than you capture.
可能比捕集到的還多。
of this technology
as $1,000 a ton
CO2 and convert it to a liquid fuel,
二氧化碳轉換成液態燃料,
it's not feasible.
a commercial-scale company,
商業規模的公司,
as 600 dollars a ton.
that are developing technologies
(Carbon Engineering)」。
approach for separation
super-abundant, cheap natural gas
the CO2 from the air
from burning the natural gas.
and they reduce costs.
and US-based Global Thermostat
(Global Thermostat)」公司,
from other industrial processes
takes a different approach.
through the material
and produce that CO2
a more compact design
advantage over a real forest: size.
有一個顯著的優勢:大小。
is a map of the Amazon rainforest.
是亞馬遜雨林的地圖,
1.6 billion tons of CO2 each year.
16 億噸的二氧化碳。
of roughly 25 percent
for a synthetic forest
或專門用來捕集空氣的電廠,
with farmland or food,
to have to cut down any real trees
of negative emissions again.
that the CO2 separated
from the atmosphere forever,
gets paid to do that today --
能靠做這種事賺錢——
these technologies
out of it, a marketable product.
these carbon markets are great.
這些碳市場是很棒的。
to be disillusioned.
to solve our climate crisis,
解決我們的氣候危機,
is we need to actually think about
is positive about the carbon markets
有一個優點我一定會說,
capture plants to be built,
新的捕集廠得以建立起來,
to bring costs down.
and technology in the world,
to have a significant impact on climate.
absolutely be willing to pay more,
carbon-negative paths
the majority of society
in research and development.
a half a percent of gross domestic product
國內生產總值投資在
is about 100 billion dollars.
約等於現今的 1000 億。
against climate change,
20 percent, 20 billion dollars.
即 200 億元,會如何。
that we could get the costs down
我們能把成本降低,
but it's part of what makes my job fun.
我的工作很有趣的原因之一。
200 synthetic forests,
a million tons of CO2 per year.
100 噸的二氧化碳。
of US annual emissions.
美國每年排放量的 5%。
associated with long-haul trucking
以及商業飛機
makes these emissions
could absolutely be significant.
in terms of land area to do this,
about half the land area of Vancouver.
溫哥華土地面積的一半左右。
of natural gas -- it also emits CO2.
它也會排放二氧化碳。
to do direct air capture,
來直接做空氣捕集,
about a third of what's intended,
預期量的三分之一左右,
clever approach of co-capture
about 15 times larger,
in my work and my research
會思考的其中一件事情,
where we should put these plants
放在哪裡最好,
the local resources available --
cheap and clean electricity --
便宜且乾淨的電力——
you can use clean electricity
replacement for natural gas,
不會產生碳,
again on negative emissions.
considered a silver bullet,
if we continue to stall
pollution worldwide.
負排放也許可以幫助我們。
that it can even be risky,
甚至可能有風險,
of total solution to our climate crisis.
把它視為是氣候危機的完全解決方案。
to burn fossil fuels 24 hours a day,
化石燃料,一年 365 天,
see negative emissions
portfolio that includes everything,
再外加一個無所不包的方案,
to net-zero emissions one day.
能走上淨碳排放為零的路途。
by the lifesaving work
do each and every day.
about my work on carbon capture,
我的碳捕集工作時,
climate change by capturing carbon
as pretty as a real one,
真實森林那麼漂亮,
to preserve not only the Amazon,
我們就不只能保育亞馬遜,
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