Carbon conundrum, climate change, CO2 capture and consumptions
Graphical abstract
Introduction
Global warming or cooling are akin to heat or freeze death by climate change. Extreme heat or frost leads to catastrophic environmental changes. Climate change on this fragile planet is a collective survival issue. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC's) stance on climate change stands under the umbrella of pure scientific methods. Extensive use of fossil fuel and increasing population are giving rise to the concentration of CO2 in our common air. Climate change is a result of our collective behavior which can be corrected by mutual insight. Global temperature may increase by several reasons other than change in atmospheric CO2 level, like solar cycle pause. However CO2 levels in atmosphere do not change, without upsetting the global temperatures.
If early life on earth was similar to Venus, as perceived, then atmospheric temperature and pressure near planet might have been over 1200 °C and 500 bar, some 4–5 billion years ago [1]. Ice core studies revealed the temperature and pressure on earth as 850 °C and 446 bar 1.6 billion years ago. Partial pressure of CO2 might have been over 164 bar, which was 30% of barometric pressure. Current CO2 atmospheric pressure is only 0.0005 atm (1 atm = 1.01325 bar). As per Vostok Ice Core data the CO2 level in atmosphere was 198 PPM about four millions years ago, which was lasted for about 130 centuries and minimum just a few centuries ago. CO2 level has been fluctuating between 150 and 280 PPM since last 400,000 years and has started gradually increasing due to release of carbon from lithosphere by volcanic eruptions, vegetation decay and animals growth. Natural carbon cycle has been maintaining optimum amount of carbon in the form of CO2 in atmosphere. Earth temperature declined to freezing point few million years ago and there has been an Ice Age in recent past before start of Holocene period some 11,000–12,000 years ago. Our records show CO2 level in atmosphere was no more than 280 PPM before industrialization about 1000 years ago. The CO2 level in atmosphere was started being recorded four to five decades ago. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) measurements at Mauna Loa Laboratory show the level of CO2 in atmosphere is rapidly rising. This level in atmosphere peaked to 400 PPM on 10 May 2013 and is likely to touch 402–403 in 2014. Keeling curve of CO2 in atmosphere from 1960 to 2014 is shown in Fig. 1 [2].
Global leadership and world community were well aware of rampant CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHG) after Montréal protocol in 1987 and Kyoto protocol in 1997, however this awareness did not yield any significant reduction in emission of CO2 in atmosphere. The countries emitting higher emission of CO2 and GHG around the globe are shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 3, respectively [3].
India emits 4.36 times CO2 and 5.5 times more GHG than South Africa which produces over 80% of electricity using coal power plants. Collectively, India and China emit 32.84% of world's CO2 and 32% of world GHG. Mongolia, Botswana and Pakistan with 0.04%, <0.01%, 0.51% CO2 emissions, respectively, are considered as the most polluted countries whereas their neighboring countries China, South Korea and India have 26.43%, 1.47% and 6.41% CO2 emissions. A comparison of GHG emissions before and after Montreal (1987) and Kyoto (1997) conventions is shown in Fig. 4 [4].
Section snippets
Global green house gases (GHG) emission trends
GHG emissions in 2010 were 2.694 times higher than 1980 levels which are now 3.61 times higher than three decades ago. Accumulative global GHG emissions were 51.6 Gt CO2-eq in 2010 (increasing at an average rate of 1.0 Gt CO2-eq per year) whilst the fossil fuels are being used at a rate of 1000 barrels oil equivalent per second. Natural sources of CO2 include volcanic eruptions, wild fires, organic matter combustion, and respiratory process of living organisms. Synthetic sources of CO2 emission
Convective and advective carbon cycles
CO2 gas is conveyed from emission centers to remote places by convective air and advective water currents. Major CO2 emitters in Asia are China (26.43%), India (6.41%) and Japan (3.73%). Collective EU and Germany CO2 emission is 15.71%, which is nearly equal to United States of America (17.33%). High temperatures along equator and adjacent regions take CO2 to upper airs which flow to opposite direction of trade winds along equator. High concentrations of CO2 reaching America from Asia cools
Ocean solubility and biological pumps
Solubility pump is physicochemical process which transports dissolved carbon from the ocean surface down to its interior. This process transfers the atmospheric heat along with carbon, down into deep sea. Solubility pump is driven by coincidence of high absorption of CO2 in low temperature water and thermohaline circulation between shallow and deep ocean layers. Transfer of CO2 into ocean's interiors occurs in cold waters but the process reverses in hot waters upwelling the CO2 back into
Carbon dioxide capture, separation and applications
Carbon dioxide level in atmosphere may be controlled by capturing, separating, sequestering and using it as refrigerant for heating and refrigerating applications. Carbon dioxide may be managed at source in power houses, vehicles and airplanes which inject it direct into heart of atmosphere. Existing carbon dioxide in air may be separated by absorption, adsorption, membranes and low temperature liquefaction processes. The state of the art carbon dioxide separation technologies, with their
Solar water heating using CO2
CO2 has been in use of heat pump system for refrigeration and heating from 1886 and later in 1866 was replaced by CFC and HFC by virtue of their better thermal performance [36]. When CFCs and HCFCs were noted to cause ozone depletion; Montreal Protocol (1987) banned the production and use of HCFCs and CFCs after 1995 in context of their higher Global Warming Potential (GWP). Kyoto Protocols in 1997 recommended complete phasing out of HCFC by 2015–2020 and HFC by 2030 [37], [38]. This causes
Conclusions
Extensive use of fossil fuels and increasing population has given raise GHG emission to 3.61 times higher than last three to four decades. Coal is emerged as potential source of CO2 emission with a contribution of 61% in power production sector. Natural convection and trade winds drive the east coast CO2 (USA, Canada) to west coast (Australia, Japan, India) where it added up with existing CO2 and travel back to east coast through advective ocean flows. Cold oceanic water absorbs carbon CO2 and
Acknowledgements
This research was in part, supported by a grant from the Pakistan-US Science and Technology Cooperation Program (Project ID No. 299), US Department of State (jointly administered by the National Academics and Higher Education Commission of Pakistan).
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