How can Carbon Capture Technology Help Make the Chemical Industry More Sustainable and Is It Viable? Essay

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Atmospheric carbon dioxide is an integral part of the carbon cycle; however, it is also a potent greenhouse gas, absorbing and radiating heat and as a result warms the planet we live on. If the percentage of carbon in the atmosphere is at its natural level these impacts are not a problem, however in our present-day modern world the percentage of carbon is at a much higher percentage and does not show any signs of decreasing; therefore, the negative impacts of CO2 in the atmosphere are an increasing problem.

The reason the amount of CO2 has increase so much since monitoring began in 1958, conducted by Charles David Keeling, is most definitely not a natural occurrence. Naturally, there would be balance between the atmospheric carbon store and the other stores of carbon with biological CO2 being produced from decomposing organic matter, respiration, forest fires and various other land use changes. However due to the introduction of anthropogenic carbon emissions carbon emissions associated with human activities into the carbon cycle this balance has been disrupted resulted in this exponential increase of CO2 within the atmosphere. There are hundreds of different human activities around today that result in the emission of carbon however one of the most prominent is the Chemical Manufacturing Industry in fact in this present day it accounts for around 23% of emissions within the US the most carbon emitting country on the planet; chemical manufacturing is second only to energyelectricity production. This shows the scale of how the industry is impacting the atmospheric balance of carbon, and with this much CO2 being pumped into our aerosphere it is no wonder we are experiencing such detrimental events of global warming and climate change, events that are damaging our planet, our home. Such impacts cannot be ignored, they may not be incredibly noticeable in everyday life in HICs like the UK, but they are there, they are happening, and they are affecting everyone. What all starts with the commercial need for cosmetics or fuel or other petrochemicals, ends with the carbon emissions created from the manufacturing process causing damaging climate change.

Be that as it may we are not entirely doomed, whilst our world may be changing for the worse currently this change is not irreversible and through the same science that created these problems, solutions have also been created. Sustainable ones that could save our world from the doomsday path it is currently on; the one I wish to focus throughout this project is Carbon Capture Technology. This technology is based on the natural or anthropogenic process of carbon sequestration, this is the process of securing CO2 to prevent it from entering the Earth’s atmosphere; there are three main types geological, biological and technological. Carbon Capture technology is part of technological sequestration and overlaps slightly with the geological side. Geological sequestration is simply the process of storing CO2 as it is captured into the geology for example deep ocean sediment or old oil wells or other fossil fuel mines. Technological sequestration is similar as it is where scientists have explored and are constantly exploring new ways to remove and store carbon from the atmosphere, so it no longer causes problems as a greenhouse gas. However technological sequestration does not just stop at storage of carbon, scientists look beyond simple removal and into how CO2 can be used as a resource in a way to make the world more efficient and sustainable with carbon. In short Carbon Capture technology is an incredibly innovative solution to climate crisis that is currently being created through world’s unsustainability, and in particular the chemical manufacturing industries unsustainability. I believe Carbon Capture technology to be an incredibly effective and useful tool that can be used to solve the industry’s carbon problems in a way that means it doesn’t need to find brand new processes and elements to use to achieve net zero carbon emissions; meeting the world’s targets on lower carbon emissions set during various climate summits like the most recent Paris Climate Summit and therefore avoiding fines and contributing to a better and more sustainable future for our planet.

And a sustainable future is exactly what is going to give us any future at all; sustainability and in particular scientific sustainability is something I am incredibly passionate about I was taught from a young age to care for the earth, this home that we all share.

but the climate crisis that is being caused by all these carbon emissions from capitalist industries is threatening the peace and health of our world. Therefore, I wanted to research about solutions, certain strategies that can help reverse this calamity we are facing and create a more sustainable world. I also want to study chemistry at university, and I feel that physical and sustainable chemistry are key components within the future of the chemical industry as a whole and therefore key components within my future career in the industry. By researching just how polluting and unsustainable the manufacturing in the industry is, sustainable chemistry in the future is even more necessary to ensure the industry’s (as well as the whole world’s ) survival.

I first came across the idea of CC technology in geography class and learning about its effectiveness and incredible potential as a solution to reduce anthropogenic carbon emissions inspired me to research further into it. Despite this technology already being around for just over 50 years, it is constantly being developed to contribute undeniably to the fight against global warming. I believe that it has the potential to be utilised in the chemical manufacturing industry in a way that would not only have a massive mitigation impact on the problems the industry created during the industrial revolution and continues to create today, but also creating a far more sustainable industry. Sustainability will allow the chemical industry to develop and grow that will benefit humanity, create careers like the one I hope to have as well as preserving the wellbeing of our planet and every living thing impacted by climate change.

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