Carbon dioxide is the ‘enemy’ of our atmosphere, according to the vast majority of scientists. The gases we release by burning oil, petroleum, coal and gas thicken our atmosphere, and trap more heat. A new technology, turning the tables on carbon dioxide, stores energy by compressing the same gas. But is this a battery? Let’s find out …
Tell Me More About Carbon Dioxide First
That’s an excellent point, because you need to understand the topic first. Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound of molecules of carbon, and molecules of oxygen in the air we breathe.
The concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has increased by 50% since the start of the industrial revolution, according to Wikipedia. We use a small proportion of this surplus in the oil and gas industry, and in urea fertilizer production.
Other applications for this byproduct include food and beverage production, fire suppression, and stimulating plant growth in greenhouses. We still have loads of surplus gas over though. Turning the tables on carbon dioxide with energy storage is one way to use it.
Okay, How Do We Turn The Tables?
We could extract pure carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. However, it is cheaper to harvest it as an industrial byproduct. Three possibilities, out of many, include capturing it in coal power station chimneys, cement kilns, and some of our favorite beverages when they are fermenting.
Energy Dome has created a giant ‘bubble’ of carbon dioxide gas in a flexible container on the island of Sardinia. First, they compress the gas using surplus electricity. When they release the pressure, this turns a turbine generating twenty megawatts of electricity over 10 hours.
So, is this a battery turning the tables on carbon dioxide? A battery stores electricity as energy, and converts it back to electricity on demand. The carbon dioxide bubble does just that, so yes, it must be a battery.
More Information
Harvesting Carbon Dioxide in a Battery
