Back to square one ?

Following news appeared in today’s Times of India :

In a few years, we’ll be making petrol from air

Burning petrol and diesel made from carbon dioxide present in the air does not cause global warming

If only we could suck carbon dioxide out of the air like plants, and turn it into useful things — like petrol, plastics and concrete — the spectre of global warming would go away.

 Scientists have long toyed with the idea of ‘direct air capture (DAC)’, but now it has become a viable technology, says Peter H Diamandis, founder of the XPrize Foundation.

Extract from Times of India news report :

“ In the coming 10 years, sourcing carbon out of the air will become more cost-effective than carbon sourced from the ground ( oil ).

By 2030, the carbon capture and utilization [ CCU ] industry is expected to reach $ 800 billion

While experts say DAC can compete with petroleum once the cost of carbon extraction dips below $ 100 per ton, one startup is already claiming $ 94 per ton , while another promises to do it at $ 50 per ton on large scale “

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Read technical narration at :

https://www.diamandis.com/blog/direct-air-capture 

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I suppose the very powerful OIL LOBBY [ OPEC ], will realize the threat and may even consider getting into the DAC game themselves , to render Startup competition, irrelevant !

After all, no startup ( or the VCs backing it ), can match the resources (funds )  of Oil Companies

The Oil companies do not want to become obsolete !

And that is the REAL DANGER

Carbon extracted from air will be converted into petrol  by Oil companies, using giant CONVERTERS ( instead of Crackers / Refiners )

Then marketed through the network of same petrol pumps , that exist today

And all existing petrol vehicles can fill up their tanks with this AIR-PETROL ( - expect the Oil companies to brand this as CLEAN PETROL  ! )

And all of these vehicles will continue to release CO / CO2 / Nitrous Oxide  emissions , as now !

Back to square one ?

Remember, this is not the same as extracting Water from thin Air – even in very dry areas, as described in :

Water above our heads [ 29  March 2019 ]

https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2019/03/water-above-our-heads.html 

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15  Sept  2019

Rsvp :  hcp@RecruitGuru.com