SWEDEN
Physics professor: Uselessly trapping CO2 molecules in the atmosphere
Published 2024-09-28

The state treasury is to be drained of no less than 36 billion tax kroner for a major investment in Bio-CCS, i.e. the capture and storage of carbon dioxide deep in the interior of the planet. Not everyone is as enthusiastic as the Swedish state about the billion rollover. One of the more vocal critics is physics professor Jan Blomgren.

Blomgren has previously questioned the venture, not least the strange circumstance that Bio-CCS is claimed to be exclusively able to distinguish CO2 molecules in the atmosphere that originate from the burning of biological material such as wood and garbage, from CO2 molecules of other origins, something that according to basic laws of nature is impossible.

But there is also, says Blomgren in a debate article in the Swedish Epoch Times, reason to question the basic idea itself; that we must lower the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to prevent the earth from perishing in a climate catastrophe. In this context, it can be mentioned that the proportion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is extremely small: around 400 parts per million (ppm).

Invokes Henry's Law
Blomgren has received help with this questioning from one of his readers, Gunnar Holmgren, who has a background as a professor of physics, although he has now retired. Holmgren invokes Henry's law about how gases behave when dissolved in liquid to problematize the ambition to reduce the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.

Blomgren explains that the CO2 molecules move at high speed in the atmosphere, several hundred meters per second. Since 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by oceans, there is a high chance that a CO2 molecule will hit and penetrate the water surface. Once dissolved in the water, it has a significantly harder time making the reverse trip, due to the fact that it cannot move as fast in water as in air.

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This means, Blomgren explains, that a great deal of carbon dioxide has accumulated in the oceans, more specifically 50 times more than what is currently in the atmosphere. Over time, a balance has been established between the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and that in the oceans. This means that if you remove 100 CO2 molecules from the atmosphere, the oceans will release 98 new ones.

No matter how much carbon dioxide you try to capture from the air, the current CO2 content will remain. A pointless job, then, but which the Swedish state still wants to invest 36 billion tax dollars in instead of fixing the holes in welfare.

Exemplifies with a bottle of soda
Blomgren gives an educational example of what happens when you open a bottle of carbonated soda. Carbonic acid is nothing more than carbon dioxide dissolved in water under pressure. When the bottle is opened, the pressure disappears and the carbon dioxide begins to be released. If the bottle is allowed to stand for a while, most of the carbonic acid/carbon dioxide disappears and we say that it is "turned off".

It is a Sisyphus-like task to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, notes Blomgren . He therefore urges the government and the Energy Agency to consider how wise it is to spend SEK 36 billion on such a project.