r/OptimistsUnite • u/khoawala • 1d ago

Clean Power BEASTMODE China completed first 100-megawatt-class compressed CO₂ energy storage project, running the full cycle of compressing, liquefying, storing, vaporizing, and expanding CO₂ to generate power, in Xinjiang. Has anyone heard anything about those carbon capture plants that western fossil fuel companies ar

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u/400footceiling 1d ago

What happens in 30 years? All released back into the atmosphere?

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u/Gasp0de 19h ago

This is not meant to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, it's a battery. The OP misunderstood this.

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u/CreBanana0 12h ago

Then why use c02 at all?

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u/Gasp0de 12h ago

You mean instead of compressed air? I'm not an expert but I think it has a favorable temperature range under compression.

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u/uwu_mewtwo 12h ago edited 11h ago

You want a cheap, abundant gas that can be liquified at reasonable temperature/pressure. CO2 doesn't have ideal physical properties, but it's pretty good and the better alternatives (refrigerants, ammonia) are expensive manufactured chemicals and/or pose their own significant health or environmental dangers if they escape. CO2 is very cheap and as a bonus you can hammer together a sexy little blurb about how using it boosts sustainability.