Would it be difficult to enrich the CO2 content of ordinary air using a centrifuge, such that the resulting enriched air would be useful for greenhouses or growing algae?

If they do it for separating isotopes of the same element, it must be much easier to do it for a gas mixture like ordinary air.

party_pants said:

Would it be difficult to enrich the CO2 content of ordinary air using a centrifuge, such that the resulting enriched air would be useful for greenhouses or growing algae?

If they do it for separating isotopes of the same element, it must be much easier to do it for a gas mixture like ordinary air.

Extremely difficult. It’s fighting against diffusion. It’s so difficult for isotopes that only a few countries can afford the technology to do it, and even that for amounts easily measured in kilograms.

Or to put it another way, the amount of CO2 generated in operating the centrifuge would be about 100 times as much as that captured by the enrichment.

mollwollfumble said:

party_pants said:

Would it be difficult to enrich the CO2 content of ordinary air using a centrifuge, such that the resulting enriched air would be useful for greenhouses or growing algae?

If they do it for separating isotopes of the same element, it must be much easier to do it for a gas mixture like ordinary air.

Extremely difficult. It’s fighting against diffusion. It’s so difficult for isotopes that only a few countries can afford the technology to do it, and even that for amounts easily measured in kilograms.

Or to put it another way, the amount of CO2 generated in operating the centrifuge would be about 100 times as much as that captured by the enrichment.

Or to put it yet another way, nanofiltration is much better, and even that has to fight against osmotic pressure.