Diamonds with Recycled CO2






We have already talked about the possibility of capturing CO2 directly from the air and also about the energy requirements that this technology would have. But on this occasion I want to talk about one of the uses that captured carbon would have: becoming diamond. That is, competing with nature, which has taken years with high pressure and temperature to convert carbon into diamonds, to produce laboratory diamonds with captured carbon.

The idea of producing laboratory diamonds is not new; we could trace it back to the 19th century. In our times, for some years now, it is already an increasingly common reality; diamonds have been created in controlled environments, in laboratories that use cutting-edge technology to replicate natural processes such as high pressure and temperature that are involved in the transformation of graphite into diamond.

As is well known, since the end of the 18th century it was discovered that diamonds were, in reality, pure carbon. Then, multiple efforts began to develop them with a certain degree of economic viability. The first laboratory diamonds appeared in the 1950s and became popular from the 1970s and 1980s.

It should be noted that when we think of diamonds, those used for jewelry quickly come to mind, particularly in engagement rings and other high-end jewelry. However, diamonds, which do not necessarily have the aesthetic characteristics of the diamonds used in jewelry, are also used in other industries such as machinery and cutting equipment, thermal conductors, electronics, optical materials and even lasers.

The idea, then, is simple, at least in concept. Capture CO2 from the air, with the technology that we have already analyzed, to convert the captured CO2 into diamonds using laboratory processes. With this, it avoids the greenhouse effect that causes global warming and climate change, at the same time that it creates a desired product.

A company in the United States even already sells the idea of laboratory diamond jewelry that offsets your greenhouse gas emissions. The company is called Aether and maintains that each carat removes at least 20 tons of CO2 in the air; which is equivalent to offsetting 2 and a half years of emissions of an average person.

The process to convert the captured CO2 is that of high temperature and high pressure, which is the oldest and cheapest to date. The process requires an internal temperature of 1400º Celsius and high pressure to convert the captured CO2 into diamonds. The diamond produced is jewelry-grade because of its high market value, which competes with natural diamonds.

As we pointed out last week, to the high energy cost of capturing CO2 directly from the air is added the cost of the process of heating the CO2 to 1400º Celsius and subjecting it to high pressure. Therefore, if energy from conventional sources is used, the final CO2 balance would be negative. For this, the company uses renewable energy sources, with which it complements, at least in theory, the virtuous cycle of circular energy.

Without a doubt, recycled CO2 diamonds are not natural diamonds, but in practice they are identical and difficult to determine if they are from laboratories. In addition, they have an advantage by eliminating the problems of conflict, environment and monopolistic practices that have characterized the industry. And you, would you buy a recycled CO2 diamond?

This article was originally published by Business Insider México.
Date: April 14, 2021
Original Link: https://businessinsider.mx/diamantes-con-co2-reciclado/ [offline]
Archived Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20240223124233/https://businessinsider.mx/diamantes-con-co2-reciclado/ [Archived]

Circular Energy and Recycled CO2






The previous week we addressed the possibility of recycling CO2 captured directly from the air to give it other uses or, failing that, to store it. The advantage of this application is that it addresses emissions from mobile sources, mainly transport, and historical emissions, unlike the capture of emissions in fixed sources such as electricity generation plants or cement factories.

We concluded the circular effect that this measure would have in the energy sector, which generates almost 75% of global CO2 emissions. However, capturing the CO2 emitted by fixed and mobile sources related to the energy sector and transport also requires energy. And it is no small thing. Research published in the journal Nature indicates that, if massively implemented, direct air CO2 capture systems to capture all the remaining gas and gas in generation by 2100 would represent around 25% of total energy consumed.

In such a way that we have a circular energy problem; if the energy used to bring direct air CO2 capture machines to life comes from fossil sources, there would be a balance problem; more emissions would be produced while trying to control the existing ones.

What is the solution?

The expected answer comes in two ways. On the one hand, in the hope that technology advances and improves its energy efficiency per kilogram of captured CO2; on the other, in a world dominated by energy generation through renewable sources and storage.

In this way, solar and wind generation and thermal storage, in hydrogen cells or in gravity, could provide 100% decarbonized energy to turn on the CO2 capture machines. That would reduce the greenhouse effect caused by CO2 and other gases that cause global warming.

Consequently, the decrease of CO2 could lead to a lower effect of climate change and, in this way, to an energy and circular transition.

Of course, thinking about capturing CO2 directly from the air is a solution that allows a transition and management of historical and current emissions from fixed and mobile sources. In such a way that, accompanied by other transition efforts such as a revolution in renewables for generation and in mobility, both electric or through hydrogen, would allow thinking about a process of total decarbonization in this century.

Without a doubt, there is still much to think about developing this technology and adapting it throughout the world; however, this leads us to another situation: can we convert recycled CO2 and not only store it? We will talk about that next week.

This article was originally published by Business Insider México.
Date: April 6, 2021
Original Link: https://businessinsider.mx/energia-circular-y-co2-reciclado/ [offline]
Archived Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20240526060424/https://businessinsider.mx/energia-circular-y-co2-reciclado/ [Archived]

The Carbon Spheres






The answer to solving the problem of carbon emissions could be in carbon capture itself and the development of commercial applications for this byproduct, such as coal spheres or carbon spheres.

Carbon spheres have great potential that ranges from energy storage to pharmaceuticals and are produced at micro and nanoscales. If you remember your secondary school classes, the submultiples of the meter are: deci, centi, milli, micro, nano, pic, etcetera. If we normally use centimeters on measuring rulers, then they are much smaller scales.

At a microscopic level we can observe cells, bacteria, chromosomes and the first transistors of the 1970s. At the nano level we can observe genes, viruses, quantum dots and the increasingly smaller modern processors. At those scales, almost at a molecular level, are carbon spheres.

When these spheres have small pores of less than 1 nanometer, they have high potential to capture carbon at atmospheric level and at low pressures. Temperature is important since when they are at 0 degrees Celsius, they can capture 4 millimolars of carbon dioxide per gram. When the temperature increases to 25 degrees, the capture drops to 3 millimolars.

However, the optimal temperature for the formation of carbon spheres is 800 degrees Celsius. That is, an enormous amount of energy is required, which can have an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

Like every incipient technology at this moment we could think that carbon spheres are expensive and impractical because they require processes that generate a strong carbon footprint. But it is a very important scientific and technological development because of the opportunities it opens in other areas.

That is to say that the capture of carbon dioxide is not the only application that has been found for carbon spheres. They have the potential to help in the development of batteries for renewable energies since they are resistant and conduct electricity with a wide surface; also for the storage of hydrogen in the form of gas, which could generate new areas of interest for the green hydrogen cycle, storage and electric generation whose byproduct is water.

On the other hand, pharmaceutical applications have also been sought, for example, the use of carbon spheres as a means of transporting medicines because it has low cellular toxicity and a dosing profile with low pH. This could be key to transforming chemotherapy treatment, since it would rapidly distribute drugs against cancer in microenvironments, inhibiting the growth of cancerous tumors.

But leaving aside the pharmaceutical application, scientific development —which is still far from generating commercial applications— suggests that development would advance the low-carbon economy. The paradox, then, is that the answer to carbon emissions – and others such as methane emissions – could be in the research itself of carbon, particularly, carbon spheres.

One more example that scientific and technological progress can bring the solutions for a better future, for the development of a clean energy sector and for the construction of a low-carbon economy. Let us go, then, to search for the carbon spheres, which will be, without a doubt, a fantastic adventure.

This article was originally published by Business Insider México.
Date: March 10, 2021
Original Link: https://businessinsider.mx/esferas-carbon-carbono-opinion-energia-circular-paul-alejandro-sanchez/ [offline]
Archived Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20221207122752/https://businessinsider.mx/esferas-carbon-carbono-opinion-energia-circular-paul-alejandro-sanchez/ [Archived]