Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 minutes to learn more.
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 minutes to learn more.
When we think of hard to abate CO2 emitting sectors, we think of cement factories, steel production, and chemical production. Those seem (to me) too duanting a challenge to jump to from scratch when it comes to CCU. How do you scale and learn and improve from nothing to those large and complex and voluminous CO2 emissions. ? The answer is beer !. It turns out breweries world-wide account of a significant amount of CO2 production from the brewing process. 190 billion liters of beer are produced yearly which at ~4kgCO2 per 100liter yields 8Gt CO2 emission from beer. However, there are breweries of all sizes and micro-breweries typically come in at ~200 000l/yr=8tCO2: a more manageable starting point. The idea would consist of developing a modular and cheap low-tech photo-bio-reactor that can be installed into micro-breweries to capture their CO2 emissions. This would offer the opportunity to learn and improve and the modularity would enable incremental steps towards larger breweries and eventually larger CO2-producing industries.
This is the idea I presented at today's idea carousel.
Rationale: On a yearly period, CO2 cycles back and forth from atmospheric gas to biomass back to atmospheric gas with an amplitude of ~5ppm = 5*8 = 40 Gt. Let's short-circuit this cycle when the CO2 in in the form of biomass and prevent as much of it to return to the atmosphere.
Idea:
A portion of the yearly carbon cycle is synthesized in the form of large algae blooms. Actually the extent and quantity of these blooms has been increasing over the past years, possibly related to various climate change factors. Idea would be to develop a fleet of autonomous self-powered boats that harvest these algaes before they are able to reach the beaches. Once harvested and processed (on the coast or on the ships), the large volumes of biomass can be turned into wanted co-products. Options includes the default bio-oil/bio-char, compost/fertiliser, and my personal favorite and most interesting insulating building block using mycelium. growth. Such a method of capturing and sequestering CO2 combines 3 benefits:
1/ capture carbon-rich biomass to prevent it from going back to air as CO2 gas.
2/ harvest large algae bloom biomass to prevent the harmful consequences that often comes with them (beaching, decomposition, methane emission, destroying coastal ecosystems and tourism communities) and
3/ producing useful co-products that have economic interest.
One exemple of such a large algae bloom is sargassum.
Diaper Dilemma: Every year, billions of baby diapers pile up, emitting over 3.3Mt of CO2e—enough to fill countless landfills. And every 60 seconds? A staggering 300,000+ diapers are tossed, wreaking havoc on our planet. With an ageing population, adult incontinence products are set to outpace infant diapers by 4-10x, presenting an even greater eco-challenge! Even reusable options fall short, only slightly reducing the environmental impact due to water and energy used in washing.
It's high time for a sustainable solution!
Our Sustainability Crusade: The idea? A cutting-edge recycling technique that breaks down Absorbent Hygiene Products (AHPs) into cellulose and a rich bounty of organic waste. This isn't just recycling; it's a sustainability revolution, turning diaper waste into algae cultivation gold.
From Diapers to Dwellings: Imagine insulating homes with materials born from this eco-friendly process. The concept? Aerogels made from alginate and cellulose harvested from algae fed on recycled diaper waste. Alginate shines as a non-toxic, flame-retardant, biocompatible, and biodegradable wonder—perfect for creating greener homes.
Beyond Insulation - Extended Applications: But why stop there? This technology opens doors to a world of possibilities - from biofuels, fertilisers, textiles, and pharmaceuticals.
Ideally, we're not just addressing waste; we're reimagining resources.
