Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Technology => Topic started by: peppercorn on 25/07/2013 23:08:20

Title: How much energy is available from entropy?
Post by: peppercorn on 25/07/2013 23:08:20

A two-stage process to harvest some of the chemical energy in carbon dioxide emissions (http://news.sciencemag.org/technology/2013/07/scienceshot-smokestacks-hidden-treasure), using a device called a capacitive electrochemical cell.

http://cen.acs.org/articles/91/web/2013/07/Harvesting-Energy-Carbon-Dioxide-Emissions.html

Bazaar huh?
So how much extra power does this really represent?

Title: Re: How much energy is available from entropy?
Post by: grizelda on 26/07/2013 19:15:40

Always good to read of a solution that isn't just an excuse for more taxation, but still, I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard "will require more energy input than it will generate as output."

Title: Re: How much energy is available from entropy?
Post by: peppercorn on 27/07/2013 12:21:04

Quote from: grizelda on 26/07/2013 19:15:40

..."will require more energy input than it will generate as output."

Quite! In this case, how come there's still net energy left in the system after the fuel is burnt? (as kinda a mirror to your statement).

The article claims that there is the potential for 400 Hoover dams worth of energy worldwide.
But a) how much of this is practically (and economically) realisable?
and b) that sounds a lot but if it includes every smokestack on the planet, is this still not a piddling percentage?

Still kinda interesting though!