Air conditioners could be used to combat climate change

They could be transformed to produce sustainable energy, purifying the environment.    

As reported by Nature Communication, researchers from the Karlsruher Institut für Technologie have studied using modern air conditioning systems in reverse, transforming them into machines capable of “capturing” carbon dioxide and water from the air purifying it. The research is based on technology that is still in the development stage, but which is producing interesting results. Once combined, the elements collected by the air conditioners allow for the creation of hydrocarbons, compounds of carbon and hydrogen that serve as fuel. To use a metaphor, it is like creating micro oil wells in every plant, and it is no coincidence that the researchers are speaking of “crowd oil”, petroleum produced collectively, replacing crude oil.

Energy-hungry, and often overused in buildings, air conditioners are protagonists of a vicious circle. Their emissions cause a rise in global temperature, and this leads to their being purchased and used even more.

As stressed by the authors of the research, converting all of the air conditioners in the Messeturm in Frankfurt would enable the elimination of tons of CO2 per hour, but there are three problems to be resolved. First of all, at the moment the plan is purely theoretical, a vision which could function, but is currently not certain. In fact, and this is the second point, various technologies are being developed for “crowd oil”, and it is not clear which will be the winner. Lastly, there is the risk that while this experimentation is under way, it will divert funds from the real problem, climate change. Who knows, therefore, if sooner or later air conditioners will really 

Photo by Isaac Benhesed

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