Energy, the Atmosphere, Climate Change and the CO2 X-Prize

Jim Zunti P.Eng., MBA

https://ca.linkedin.com/in/jimzunti

© J Zunti, 2017 1

Agenda

• Source energy - our four sources of energy

• The atmosphere - facts and visualization

• Climate change - air, water, land; carbon dioxide

emission and absorption

• Carbon innovation incentives - Canada and US

2© J Zunti, 2017

Source energy

1. Geothermal – heat energy harvested from the environmenta. Generating Electricity using heat energy

from the ground

b. Heating & cooling, using air exchangers, air conditioners and heat pumps, transfers

heat energy between the earth/atmosphere and a controlled environment. Typical systems use less input energy than the net heat energy output, so there is a geothermal energy benefit.

3© J Zunti, 2017

Source energy

2. Gravitation/Inertiala. Gravitational

• Gravitational forces between the moon, sun, and the earth create ocean tides. The rise and fall of tides represent potential energy and kinetic energy that could be harvested.

b. Inertial• Ocean currents and atmospheric air currents/rotations are

influenced by the spin of the earth from the force known as the Coriolis effect. This causes typical weather system rotation counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. This represents kinetic energy that, in theory, could be harvested.

Size to scale, distance not to scale

4© J Zunti, 2017

Source energy

3. Atomica. Nuclear Fission (breaking apart atomic nuclei)

• Current atomic reactors

b. Nuclear fusion (fusing atomic nuclei)• Not yet commercially possible

Radioactive waste for 1000’s of years (although it’s possible to use different fuelsand/or reprocess/reuse fuels in different reactor types to reduce longevity and quantity of radioactive materials)

Radioactive waste for 50-100 years*

*https://www.euro-fusion.org/faq/does-fusion-give-off-radiation/ 5© J Zunti, 2017

Source energy

4. Solar and derivativesa. Photosynthesis! (plant growth for food – not shown on chart, below)b. Photovoltaic energy (directly convert solar radiation into electricity via photovoltaic devices)c. Concentrated solar power (CSP – using mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto a steam

system that drives an electrical generator)d. Wind and wave energy (harvest of solar radiation thermal convection effects)e. Agro-fuel derived energy (photosynthetic products combusted with atmospheric oxygen)f. Hydro energy (harvest of solar radiation evaporation & convection effects that resulted in deposition

of water to higher altitudes)g. Fossil fuels (photosynthetic products combusted with atmospheric oxygen)

Harvest/Renewal Latency (Seconds)

100 104 108 1012 1016

Photovoltaic& CSP

Wind,Wave

FossilHydroAgroFuel

hr d yr 100 yr 1 Billion yr1 Million yrmo

6© J Zunti, 2017

Source energy (summary)

The current “source energy” menu is:

1. Geothermal2. Gravitational/Inertial3. Atomic4. Solar (below).

Solar:

Wind,Wave

HydroAgroFuel

All our primary energy, for everythingwe make or do, comes from these four sources. If we choose to use energy,

we are selecting from these.

Harvest/Renewal Latency (Seconds)

In theory, the agro-fuel CO2 cycle can be sustainable if CO2

is converted back to equivalent hydrocarbons (fuels), using non-CO2 emitting energy, within the same time frame as

the fuel is used (CO2 hydrocarbon); Alternatively, CO2 could be prevented from entering

the atmosphere

100 104 108 1012 1016

hr d yr 100 yr 1 Billion yr1 Million yrmo

FossilPhotovoltaic

& CSP

7© J Zunti, 2017

The atmosphere

Fish live in an ocean of liquid water.

People live in an ocean of vapor air (with occasional liquid thrown in). Sometimes we forget because air is invisible.

8© J Zunti, 2017

The atmosphere

How deep is our ocean of air?

• Air density decreases with altitude, and eventually thins out to nothing.

• From a mass perspective, more than ninety-nine percent (99%) of the earth’s atmosphere is contained within an altitude of approximately 40km(25 miles, 130,000 ft.)

• Is 40 km a lot?

….. It depends on your perspective.

9© J Zunti, 2017

The atmosphere

The view from the ~99%• On October 14, 2012, Felix Baumgartner jumped from 38,969m during the

Red Bull Stratos mission in New Mexico. This is the view from ~40 km.

10© J Zunti, 2017

The atmosphere

99% of atmosphere, at 40 km altitude, compared to Calgary, Alberta

40 km, 99% of atmosphere

© Google Maps 11© J Zunti, 2017

The atmosphere

99% of atmosphere, at 40 km altitude, compared to New York, NY

40 km, 99% of atmosphere

© Google Maps 12© J Zunti, 2017

The atmosphere

Our ocean of air shown to scale (40 km is 1/1000 of earth’s circumference).

The thickness of this yellow

line represents

about 40km

in altitude,

99% of

our air.

Space station orbit

at 400 km

Earth via

13© J Zunti, 2017

The atmosphere

What are the major component gases of the atmosphere?

GasChemical Symbol

Mean Molecular Weight (g/mol)

Concentration (ppmv)

Nitrogen N2 28.013 780,840

Oxygen O2 31.999 209,460

Argon Ar 39.948 9,340

Carbon dioxide CO2 44.01 384

Neon Ne 20.18 18.18

Helium He 4.003 5.24

Methane CH4 16.043 1.774

Krypton Kr 83.798 1.14

Hydrogen H2 2.016 0.56

Nitrous oxide N2O 44.012 0.32

Xenon Xe 131.293 0.09

Ozone O3 47.998 0.01-0.10

The following table lists concentration (at near sea level) of gases constituting dry air in parts per million by volume (ppmv).*

*2009, Atmospheric Composition and Vertical Structure, Article ID: eae31Thomas W. Schlatter, NOAA Earth Systems Research Laboratory, David Skaggs Research Center, Boulder, CO USA

What about water vapor?

Because the concentration of water vapor in the

atmosphere is temperature limited, and winds can

easily transport vapor thousands of kilometers, this

gas is highly variable in space and time. Its

concentration is 0-4% by volume* (0-40,000 ppmv).

Ironically, water vapor is typically not included in

published atmospheric composition tables even

though water vapor and clouds are said to account

for roughly three quarters of the greenhouse gas

effect (next slide).

14© J Zunti, 2017

Climate change

• Over the past several decades, “climate change” has been raised as a major global concern. The root of climate change is really an increase in energy absorbed within earth’s environment – air, water, soil – that is said to be triggering “global warming”.

• Global warming is said to be caused by atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs) that trap infrared radiation (~heat). The three primary GHGs are said to be water vapor (H2O) , carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4).

• “Water vapor is the dominant contributor (∼50% of the effect), followed by clouds (∼25%) and then CO2 with ∼20%. All other absorbers play only minor roles.”*

• Water vapor is generally not addressed as a GHG because it said to be controlled by the atmosphere, but there is still much debate about proportional effects of respective GHG components.

*Schmidt, G. A., R. A. Ruedy, R. L. Miller, and A. A. Lacis (2010), Attribution of the present‐day total greenhouse effect, J. Geophys. Res., 115, D20106, doi:10.1029/2010JD014287.

15© J Zunti, 2017

Climate change

• If the earth is heating up, where is the energy being stored?

• In the atmosphere?• In the oceans?• In the ground and ground cover?

16© J Zunti, 2017

Climate change

Energy stored in mass can be manifested as heat:• The “specific heat” of matter will determine how much the temperature rises with the energy

within the matter

• When “global warming” is heard, many people think about increasing air temperatures. In fact, the ocean plays a very significant role since the capacity of the earth’s entire global atmosphere to retain energy (per degree K) is equivalent only to approximately 13 feet (4 m) of ocean’s surface water!**

*From http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/specific-heat-capacity-d_391.html**assuming ocean coverage is 2/3 of earth’s surface and ocean convection allows the heat to be transferred below the surface.

There is an abundance of thermal energy storage capacity in ocean water, and changes in ocean temperatures represent a far more significant amount of total

stored heat energy as compared to the energy in atmospheric air.

17

Substance Specific Heat *(Approximate, KJ/kg K)

Comments

Air 1.005 Dry air at sea level

Water 4.182 Approximately 4 times the energy /K° /kg compared to air

Dry Soil 0.800

© J Zunti, 2017

Climate change

• In fact, “Ocean warming dominates the increase in energy stored in the climate system, accounting for more than 90% of the energy accumulated between 1971 and 2010 (high confidence) with only about 1% stored in the atmosphere”*

*Page 40, IPCC Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report http://ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/ 18

If we are serious about understanding “global warming” shouldn’t we be taking our primary temperature data from the

ocean?

© J Zunti, 2017

Climate change

How much has the atmospheric concentration of GHGs changed over time?• Recent CO2 concentrations

In the above figure, the dashed red line with diamond symbols represents the monthly mean values, centered on the middle of each month. The black line with the square symbols represents the same, after correction for the average seasonal cycle (vegetation growth cycles in the northern hemisphere cause annual cycles of CO2 absorption/release)

19Data from http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/weekly.html

© J Zunti, 2017

Climate change

• Longer term atmospheric CO2 levels are as follows (pre-industrial CO2 levels are commonly said to be about 280ppm).

For some excellent visualizations of global CO2 progression, see the NOAA & NASA videos• https://youtu.be/gH6fQh9eAQE• https://youtu.be/hsAgHMxajSw

20© J Zunti, 2017

Climate change

• Visualizing CO2 – a thought experiment

• If atmospheric CO2 was its own separate layer, how thick would the layer be?

• If 99% of the atmosphere is contained within 40 km, the layer of CO2 would be 400 ppm (volumetrically) of that. The layer would be 16 meters thick if we used an atmospheric pressure profile. At a constant sea level pressure it would be thinner than 16m.

• By contrast, pre-industrial levels of 280 ppm would be about 11.2 meters thick

If CO2 was a separate layer with an atmospheric pressure profile, 99% of the CO2 would be contained in a layer this thick (pre and post industrial era):

Post16m

21

Pre11m

© J Zunti, 2017

Climate change

• Long term atmospheric methane (CH4) levels

22© J Zunti, 2017

Climate change

Global Warming potentialDifferent chemical compounds have different capacities for retaining heat. Below are listed the 100-year global warming potential for example greenhouse gases reported by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The higher the number, the proportionally more heat is retained.*

23© J Zunti, 2017

*See https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch2s2-10-2.html for additional details.

Climate change

Quiz 1• Question – How much CO2 can a tree revert back to carbon (C) and oxygen (O2) in a year?...

• Answer – It’s directly related to the weight of carbon remaining in dehydrated/dry leaves, fruit, roots and branches during its growing season. The carbon stays in the plant structures, the oxygen is liberated to atmosphere (but how much of that is CO2 kept out of the atmosphere, and for how long?) Based on certain assumptions. the US EPA estimates that a medium growth coniferous tree, planted in an urban setting and allowed to grow for 10 years, sequesters 23.2 lbs (10.5 kg) of carbon* (in total during those 10 years).

* https://www.epa.gov/energy/ghg-equivalencies-calculator-calculations-and-references 24© J Zunti, 2017

Climate change

Quiz 2• Question – How would the carbon in one tank of gasoline (e.g. 60 liters) for your car

compare, by weight, to your autumn bags of deciduous tree leaves? (You could also factor in incremental growth of the trunk, roots and branches – how much dry firewood would that provide annually?)

• Answer – Sixty liters of gasoline weighs about 43 kg. It is about 85% carbon by weight, so 60 l contains ~37 kg of carbon. Combusting that same 60 liters of gasoline would have first created nominally ~60 kg water vapor and ~140 kg CO2*.

?

* https://www.epa.gov/energy/ghg-equivalencies-calculator-calculations-and-references uses a conversion factor of 8,887 gramsof CO2 emissions per gallon of gasoline

25© J Zunti, 2017

Carbon innovation incentives

$20,000,000 NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE• Incentivize and accelerate the development of technologies that convert

CO2 into valuable products.

• The competition has two tracks • one focused on testing technologies at a US coal power plant

• one focused on testing technologies at a Canadian natural gas power plant.

http://carbon.xprize.org/

26© J Zunti, 2017

Carbon innovation incentives

US DOE $13,000,000,000 for innovation

• October 21, 2015 – The U.S. Energy Department is offering another $1 billion to companies developing innovative energy systems.

• The department’s loan programs office now has $4.5 billion available for loan guarantees for renewable energy, up from $4 billion. Funding for the advanced fossil energy projects initiative has been boosted to $8.5 billion from $8 billion. The programs also support energy storage, smart grid technology and methane capture for oil and natural gas wells.*

27© J Zunti, 2017

* https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-21/u-s-offering-another-1-billion-for-advanced-energy-technology

Appendix

Sources for additional information

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changehttp://www.ipcc.ch/

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)http://newsroom.unfccc.int/

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)http://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/

US Department of Energyhttps://energy.gov/

Canada's Action on Climate Change www.climatechange.gc.ca

28© J Zunti, 2017