Ezra James

Which form of CCT, natural or industrial, is the most sustainable way of reducing Carbon in the air at an efficient rate?

Started Apr. 15, 2022

Abstract or project description

At this point in time, the amount of carbon (C) produced by humans every year is higher than it has ever been. There are two main solutions to fix this problem: reduce the amount of C produced and remove some of it directly from the air. The methods for removing C from the air involve new developments in technology, both industrial and agricultural. Along with these advancements comes the question, which one is more efficient at removing C? The efficiency of these methods could be defined in many ways, including the amount of C captured or the cost per amount of C captured. I am going to focus on the amount of C captured in general, as the importance of the cost differs from company to company and nation to nation. To discover the more effective method, I will use a combination of data from sources including the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Interactive Database and others that support both the industrial and technological side of carbon capture technology (CCT). With the data from these sites, using the R computing environment, I will compile a dataset that supports the more efficient and effective form of CCT. In the end, I expect the industrial methods will be more efficient as they are faster and more easily mass produced than agricultural methods. Distinguishing the difference in efficiency between these two methods is important because the severity of the situation requires a quick, effective solution and while using both methods at the same time does work, it would be better to focus on the more efficient solution.