Louie Dukinfield, Deanna Stephen, Danielle White Artificial Trees CPSG 200 Science & Global Change Semester III “Search for Solution” Project Louie Dukinfield, Deanna Stephen, Danielle White

Current Conditions -400 parts per million of carbon dioxide in atmosphere -Global Warming -Global sea level rise -Global sea level rose about 6.7 inches in last century -rate in the last decade, however, is nearly double that of the last century -There is no question that increased levels of greenhouse gases must cause the Earth to warm in response- NASA "National Geographic Magazine - NGM.com." National Geographic Magazine - NGM.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2016. NASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2016.

What are artificial Trees? An artist’s rendering of GRT’s (now Kilimanjaro Energy) “artificial trees.” http://climatechange.medill.northwestern.edu/2015/02/26/calming-the-clash-energy-demand-and-climate-change/ http://www.sunshinesilk.com/

What are Artificial Trees? Klaus Lackner Leaves - sheets of papery plastic and are coated in a resin “Leaves” soaks up carbon dioxide from the air Leaves are closely spaced or in honeycomb formation for efficiency passively soaks up carbon dioxide from the air using “leaves” that are 1,000 times more efficient than true leaves that use photosynthesis "We don't need to expose the leaves to sunlight for photosynthesis like a real tree does," Lackner explains. "So our leaves can be much more closely spaced and overlapped – even configured in a honeycomb formation to make them more efficient." The leaves look like sheets of papery plastic and are coated in a resin that contains sodium carbonate, which pulls carbon dioxide out of the air and stores it as a bicarbonate (baking soda) on the leaf. To remove the carbon dioxide, the leaves are rinsed in water vapour and can dry naturally in the wind, soaking up more carbon dioxide. "Is an Artificial Tree Part of the Solution to Climate Change? These Guys Think So." Public Radio International. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2016. http://discovermagazine.com/2013/nov/15b-carbon-capture

How do they work? The Scrubber Solution Lead researcher: Klaus Lackner Plastic resin material Binds CO2 bicarbonate, salt CO2 is contained by baking soda product Biello, David. "400 PPM: Can Artificial Trees Help Pull CO2 from the Air?" Scientific American. N.p., 16 May 2013. Web. 08 Nov. 2016. -baking soda when there's a sodium atom involved, holds the CO2 -CHART: 1. Wind blows air through a carousel’s plastic filter, which are laced with an absorbing agent that extracts CO2. When the air reemerges, it contains less CO2. 2. As filters become saturated, they are lowered into vacuum chambers and rinsed with water vapor, which removes the lightly bound CO2 from the filters. 3. The filters return to the carousel . The CO2 is separated from the water, compressed to a liquid, and pumped underground.

Benefits resin absorbs CO2 more powerfully than plants Do not need sunlight, water, etc. Reversible process; adding water releases CO2 CO2 byproduct fed to algae for biofuels and greenhouses 10 million could remove 3.6 billion tons of CO2 -resin sucks in CO2 even more powerfully than the plants do, as a function of the relative humidity of the material -collects roughly 1,000 times as much CO2 as real trees Mitigation Potential: ten million “artificial trees” could remove 3.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide– equivalent to about 10% of our global annual carbon dioxide emissions. each year which would drop atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide by about 0.5 parts per million per year. -can collect roughly 1,000 times as much CO2 as a real tree of comparable size. "Our total emissions could be removed with 100 million trees," he says, "whereas we would need 1,000 times that in real trees to have the same effect."

Drawbacks Storage space Cost of the trees Cost of storage or disposal No models in place https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj11vSU76jQAhXE7oMKHVLoCn0QjhwIBQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphys.org%2Fnews%2F2014-10-oxygen-molecules-carbon-dioxide.html&bvm=bv.138493631,d.amc&psig=AFQjCNFgMFIydavZBGefLedWY9SjYkJu8Q&ust=1479234130467051

Summary Artificial trees capture CO2 from air Use a resin material to store as bicarbonate Issues with cost and storage space Technology not in place yet Wrigley, TextTish. "Leonardo DiCaprio with a Swan." AnOther. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.

Work Cited http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/big-idea/13/carbon-capture http://bradleydibble.authorsxpress.com/2013/06/18/scrubbing-the-air-with-artificial-trees/ http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/tempe/2015/11/11/artificial-trees-how-asu- scientists-hoping-reverse-global-warming-cns/75580316/ http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-08-30/artificial-tree-part-solution-climate-change-these- guys-think-so http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-15/watch-these-synthetic-leaves-suck-co2- out-of-the-sky http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/prospects-for-direct-air-capture-of-carbon- dioxide/