One of the great problems facing today's society, as you surely know, lies in climate change and the terrible effects that are already beginning to be felt. We are precisely facing a problem that does not seem to have an easy solution since it is not only enough, as it seems that it is of interest to our leaders, emitting less carbon dioxide or CO2 into the atmosphere since we will only be accumulating less amount.
With the above, what I intend to introduce you to is the idea that there is enough CO2 in the atmosphere to warm the planet and that climate change begins that can be catastrophic. By emitting less CO2 the only thing we achieve, therefore, is to add less CO2 to the atmosphere while, according to the experts, what we have to do, in addition to these measures, is get rid of these particles from the atmosphere in order to free it.
Climeworks is responsible for the construction of this factory capable of extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
This is precisely the path that they seem to have started in Iceland where they already have operational what is considered as the first plant with negative CO2 emissions of our planet. What this means is that we are looking at a plant whose operation will consume more carbon dioxide than it will emit into the atmosphere.
The company that has been able to build this new factory has been nothing less than the Swiss-based startup known by the name of weatherworks and the idea behind its operation is to make huge turbines capable of absorbing large amounts of air. This air must pass through a complex system with the ability to retain carbon dioxide molecules, molecules that will be directed underground to a base of volcanic rock.
It is at this point, specifically underground, where the carbon dioxide or CO2 molecules react chemically with the basalt, becoming completely solidified in the form of limestone rock. Thanks to this method, according to the company's own estimates, the plant will have the capacity to extract about 50 tons of carbon dioxide from the air each year.
This plant is capable of extracting 50 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere per year
The negative point of this whole system, although it may not be so much and it may evolve considerably in the future thanks to the use of new technologies, is that we are facing a pilot program. As for the advantages of it, as many experts have assured, it is that thanks to the fact that carbon dioxide turns into stone it is not necessary to keep it and monitor it in any type of special deposit.
However… Why haven't plants like this been created for years? According to certain voices, the extraction of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere until now had been considered only as a plan B To which they did not want to resort because, with its use, carbon dioxide emissions could have been uncontrolled and that, later, the problem with this type of plants could have been reduced, something that is a solution, according to legislators , very little responsible, hence it is preferred to limit emissions and ensure that these are reduced to the maximum.
On the other hand, one of the disadvantages of using this system is the economic issue. For this I would like to refer to a certain report made in 2011 where the cost of getting a ton of carbon dioxide out of the air was speculated to be between $ 600 and $ 1000. At this point, it should be noted that, precisely thanks to the technological advances that we have achieved since then, the price is not that expensive, standing at $ 100 per metric ton, costs that can be cut in half once this technology can be scalable .