With this new plant, drinking fizzy drinks could help support clean initiatives. A gas-fired plant in Nottinghamshire, England, now captures carbon dioxide and reuses it to make those drinks.
This groundbreaking plant reportedly uses waste heat to capture and clean the gas, so it's a pretty efficient way to create drinks that will end up in the local pub. Meanwhile, the plant can also provide flexible power for the national grid when renewable energy fluctuates, providing electricity for about 10,000 homes.
"It's about a circular economy," co-founder Michael Avison told BBC News. "There is nothing wrong with fossil fuels if we clean them up."
That is a big "if," but so far, reports indicate they are cleaning them up. Two sets of cylinders use a liquid solvent to capture the carbon dioxide in the air, the BBC said, and then the gas is released to be cleaned and tested so that it's pure enough to be used in food.
The BBC explained that the plant captures and cleans the gas, "which would otherwise contribute to climate change," and "earns valuable carbon credits because the food grade carbon dioxide replaces manufactured gas."
That said, while burning natural gas primarily results in just carbon dioxide and water vapor, gas-powered plants and devices also produce pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and leaked methane, and the report does not mention what happens with those other emissions. So while it's unlikely that the plant is a clean miracle, and the dangers associated with gas leaks and accidents are far more severe than those from solar panels, it is nonetheless an improvement over the status quo among natural gas plants as long as the carbon dioxide is indeed food-grade pure.
Chief technical officer Roddy Elder told the BBC that the process is "much better than burning gas in a traditional power station. We're burning fuel, but the fuel itself is not contributing to global warming" — under the assumption that there is a relatively static existing demand for carbonated beverages and that other forms of carbonation would not be taking the carbon dioxide directly from the air, anyway.
As many carbonation processes pull carbon dioxide from the air, the net carbon dioxide impact of the plant is fair to question, but theoretically the plant could still be accomplishing its carbonation in a commendably efficient way by capturing it in this way and using waste heat to power the process. Either way, the innovation is a good example of driving down the negative impacts of old-fashioned dirty energy sources, which remain necessary for adequate power in many areas until renewable ones can gain a wider foothold.
Avison had the idea for a more sustainable power plant 15 years ago, but then carbon was too cheap to pay off the plant. Now, carbon costs more, and the ability to make fizzy drinks for local pubs helps to make the project financially viable.
Advanced technology such as this is becoming more popular across the globe. From the cutting-edge device that turns heat sources into energy in Texas to hydrogen car engines in Japan, environmentally friendlier options are becoming easier to find than ever before.
These energy solutions help to balance the amount of pollution the world produces. In 2023, the global average for atmospheric carbon was 419.3 parts per million, setting a record. Scientists are seeking to reduce this figure with revolutionary environmental technology.
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Most of the cleaner technology projects do more than just support the environment; often, they provide cheaper resources that slash bills. Francesco La Camera, the Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency, has stated that "today, renewables are the cheapest source of power."
The cost of renewable energy has continued to go down in recent years, meaning producing pollution is not just bad for the environment, but it is also bad for the economy.
The BBC reported that investors in the power plant project hope to attract interest from others to create an even better design and use it around the world.
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