CO2: curse or blessing?What do you really know about carbon dioxide

CO

: curse or blessing?

What do you really know about carbon dioxide

What is carbon dioxide?

• Natural molecule build from one

carbon and two oxygen atoms.

• Invisible • Odourless

• In atmospheric conditions it is a gas. • Toxic?

What percentage of carbon dioxide is in

the air?

• 0.04% normal

• 0.15% – 1% indoors (1% at poor ventilation) • 1.5% => fast(er) breathing

• 2% => mild hallucinating effect

• 4% - 5% => dizziness, confused and after a while

unconscious

• 8% => unconscious after 5 – 10 minutes, death after 30

Respiration

• The brain controls the respiration by measuring the

outgoing CO₂ and the acidity (pH) of the blood.

• Exhaling more CO₂ => faster breathing Exhaling less CO₂ => slower breathing

• What happens if you don’t exhale CO₂ e.g. in a environment without oxygen and CO₂?

Why is CO

called a “green house gas”?

CO₂ absorbs heat radiation (infra red) from the sun and

thus retaining the heat. This radiation would be reflected if there was no

green house gas and that would implicate that the earth would cool down to

Green house gases

Examples:

• Carbon dioxide (CO₂)

• Water vapour (H₂O, most common but works two ways via the climate)

• Methane (CH₄, 28x stronger than CO₂)

• Freon (CF₂Cl₂, 5700 to 11900 x stronger than CO₂)

Natural emission e.g. via volcanic activities => end of the ice age!

Short cycle CO

Why do we call the CO₂ emission of sustainable fuels “short cycle CO₂?

This short cycle refers to the “recyclen” of CO₂ within several years: plants grow and assimilate CO₂ => plants are used for sustainable fuels => fuels produce CO₂.

CO

: blessing or curse?

In the natural cycle “we” need CO₂:

 Plants assimilate CO₂ and combine it with nitrogen after which they “exhale” oxygen (O₂), so called photosynthesis.

 Animals need CO₂ for the control of their respiration

 Without CO₂ there is a permanent ice age, in other words a dead planet!

BUT:

 Too much CO₂ emission of fossil fuels disturbs the balance and thereby accelerates the

CO

storage? (discussion)

• The molecule is larger than methane (CH₄)

• It is not flammable

• It is a natural molecule

• Gas fields have an impermeable layer

• CO₂ is already “stored” in the earth (e.g. in polar ice)

Ted Wildenberg Business Developer