We have previously cited the United States Department of Energy scientists Carol Creutz and Etsuko Fujita, at New York's Brookhaven National Laboratory, and their colleague there, Meyer Steinberg, as in our recent report of his "United States Patent 3,959,094 - Electrolytic Synthesis of Methanol from CO2; May, 1976", in support of the plain truth that Carbon Dioxide is a valuable raw material resource.
We shouldn't be attempting, through Cap & Trade taxation, to punish our Coal-use industries because they produce it for us; nor should we, through the enforced Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide in leaky and nearly-depleted natural petroleum reservoirs, enslave our Coal industries, and their customers, into the service of Big Oil.
From a workshop on Carbon Management, as identified and available via the enclosed link, we submit, as further evidence of those truths, excerpts from the chapter of a book, compiled from the conference proceedings, which we also include as an attached file, by Creutz and Fujita, which clearly illustrates the potentials for utilizing, rather than wasting, Carbon Dioxide.
Comment follows excerpts from:
"Carbon Dioxide as a Feedstock; BNL-68111
Authors: Carol Creutz and Etsuko Fujita; Brookhaven National Laboratory; Upton, NY
This chapter is an overview on the subject of carbon dioxide as a starting material for organic syntheses of potential commercial interest and the utilization of carbon dioxide as a substrate for fuel production.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide is an abundant (750 billion tons in atmosphere), but dilute source of carbon (only 0.036 % by volume), so technologies for utilization at the production source are crucial for both sequestration and utilization.
(One note of disagreement: USDOE scientists at the Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories have shown clearly, as we have documented, that it is possible to, using environmental energy, "harvest" CO2 from the atmosphere. However, reclaiming CO2 from flue gas, at it's place of production, offers possibilities for profitable utilization of CO2 at those sites, to the economic benefit of the surrounding communities. - JtM)
The 3500 million tons estimated to be added to the atmosphere annually at present can be compared to the 110 million tons used to produce chemicals, chiefly urea (75 million tons), salicylic acid, cyclic carbonates and polycarbonates. Increased utilization of CO2 as a starting material is, however, highly desirable, because it is an inexpensive, non-toxic starting material.
The other uses of interest are utilization as a solvent and for fuel production ... .
Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Fuels: Direct Hydrogenation - With abundant renewable energy sources carbon dioxide can be converted to fuels by reduction to methanol or methane. .
CO2 converted to fuels using renewable ... power produces no net emission of CO2 (when carbon dioxide produced by energy consumption in the reduction process is excluded) and it would complement the renewable production of fuels from biomass which is likely to be insufficient to meet future world demands.
Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Fuels: Indirect Hydrogenation - Hydrogen (H2) may be replaced by electrons and protons, available, for example, in electrochemical reduction in aqueous media.
The objective is to develop strategies for reduction of CO2 that can be adapted to utilization at different sources and to attain fuel products widely utilizable with current and future technologies.
Hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to methanol is slightly exergonic, and to methane to a greater extent ... .
Principal current uses of carbon dioxide: Urea synthesis is currently the largest use of carbon dioxide in organic synthesis. Urea is the most important nitrogen fertilizer in the world. It is also an intermediate in organic syntheses such as production of melamine and urea resins, used as adhesives and bonding agents."
