1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hi 2 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:08,799 Speaker 1: brain Stuff. I'm Lauren voge O Bom and this is 3 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: another classic episode. This one originally aired in and it 4 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,720 Speaker 1: concerns an area of technological development that is still in 5 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:22,639 Speaker 1: development today, the capture of harmful carbon dioxide pollution to 6 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 1: turn into useful fuel. Hey, brain Stuff. Lauren Vogel bomb 7 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:32,280 Speaker 1: here S fonte Arenas was a Swedish electrochemist who in 8 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:37,840 Speaker 1: predicted that man made carbon dioxide emissions would dramatically transform 9 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: Earth's climate. You and I live in the future he 10 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:44,559 Speaker 1: saw coming. So far, the twenty one century has witnessed 11 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 1: seventeen of the eighteen hottest years on record, and just 12 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 1: as Arena is suspected, the main cause of this warming 13 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: trend is all the CEO two we keep pumping into 14 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: the atmosphere. The scale of the problem is jaw dropping. 15 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:00,640 Speaker 1: In the year seventeen alone, human beings un leased forty 16 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: point five billion tons about thirty six point eight billion 17 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: metric tons of this world altering greenhouse gas. Much of 18 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 1: the blame falls on our transportation infrastructure. Around twenty of 19 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: global CEO two emissions are made by cars, trucks, airplanes, 20 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: and other vehicles, though, just out of saying when cow 21 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: is another farm animals burper fart, they're contributing to climate 22 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:26,119 Speaker 1: change too. The methane and livestocks belches and flatulence makes 23 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: up thirty of all agriculture related greenhouse gas emissions. But 24 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: back to carbon dioxide. Wouldn't it be nice if we 25 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 1: could pull CEO two out of thin air and incorporate 26 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:38,839 Speaker 1: it into a new kind of vehicular fuel that's better 27 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:42,320 Speaker 1: for the environment. We may be ready to start doing 28 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: just that. In June, the energy research journal Jewel published 29 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,919 Speaker 1: a study led by Harvard professor David Keith, an experimental 30 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:54,560 Speaker 1: physicist and public policy expert. Keith founded the company Carbon 31 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: Engineering in two thousand nine. The organization's mission is to 32 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 1: quote develop and commercial is technology that captures industrial scale 33 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: quantities of CO two directly from the air. With the 34 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 1: help of Bill Gates and other investors, Carbon Engineering was 35 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: able to open a nine million dollar direct air capture 36 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 1: plant in twenty Located in Squamish, British Columbia. The facility 37 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: uses large fans to pull outside air through filters coated 38 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: with liquid solution that traps carbon dioxide. Then the captured 39 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: gases converted into small pellets of calcium carbonate. Using these pellets, 40 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:33,880 Speaker 1: carbon engineering has made synthetic gasoline, diesel, and even jet fuel. 41 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:37,639 Speaker 1: The advantages of this air to fuel process are considerable. 42 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:42,080 Speaker 1: Whereas naturally occurring fossil fuels are notoriously finite, these man 43 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: made liquids are renewable, and since they're produced with recycled 44 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:49,520 Speaker 1: c O two, they don't contribute to mankind's carbon footprint. Plus, 45 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:52,240 Speaker 1: our existing vehicles wouldn't need to be modified in any 46 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: way to start running on these synthetic fuels. Over in 47 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,240 Speaker 1: Switzerland there's another carbon capture plant run by Climb Works, 48 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 1: a separate come any which now sells recycled CEO two. 49 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 1: But if this technology is going to make a significant 50 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:07,760 Speaker 1: dent in our carbon emissions problem, will need a lot 51 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:11,639 Speaker 1: of new plants. So how cost effective is that going 52 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: to be? Last year, m I T engineer Howard Herzog 53 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,080 Speaker 1: estimated that it would cost an air capture facility a 54 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: thousand dollars to generate a single U S ton that's 55 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: about point nine metric tons of usable carbon dioxide. Keith's 56 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 1: new paper begs to differ. According to his calculations, the 57 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:31,800 Speaker 1: process costs a more reasonable ninety four dollars to two 58 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: and forty two dollars per U. S ton Keith said 59 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: in a press statement, we can confidently say that while 60 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: air capture is not some magical, cheap solution, it is 61 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: a viable and buildable technology for producing carbon neutral fuels 62 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: in the immediate future and for removing carbon in the 63 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: long run. Today's episode is based on the article carbon 64 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 1: Captured a fuel is Almost here on how stuffworks dot Com, 65 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: written by Mark Nancini. Brain Stuff is a production of 66 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio in partnership with has stuffworks dot Com, 67 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: and it is produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts 68 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 69 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.