Rules of the Carbon Road
“With MIDAC we have proven that industrial decarbonization can be both practical, powerful and profitable. Our goal was simple: capture more carbon with less energy – and now we’re delivering on that promise”
Super Fires and Black Carbon Emissions
Climate change is making wildfires bigger and more intense, creating a dangerous cycle. As the number of "super fires" grows, so does the amount of black carbon they release, which is a powerful warming pollutant that further accelerates climate change.Higher Intensity: Super fires burn hotter, leading to incomplete combustion of plants and other organic matter. Black carbon is a product of this incomplete burning, so hotter, more intense fires release a higher concentration of it.
Larger Burned Area: The massive size of these fires means they consume vast amounts of land and fuel, which directly results in more black carbon being released into the atmosphere.Burning Carbon-Rich Ecosystems: Climate change is pushing fires into new areas like boreal forests and tropical peatlands that store huge amounts of carbon. When these areas burn, they release massive quantities of long-stored carbon from the ground, much of it as black carbon.Injection into the Stratosphere: Extreme fires can create massive smoke clouds that inject black carbon directly into the stratosphere, where it can remain for years. In the stratosphere, black carbon is even more effective at trapping heat, making its warming effect significantly greater.
Scientific projections show that emissions from fires are on the rise. Some reports suggest that extreme fire incidents could increase by up to 50% by the end of the century. This increase will inevitably lead to a significant rise in black carbon emissions.
Black carbon is a major concern because it’s a powerful, short-lived climate pollutant. Although it doesn't stay in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide, it has a warming potential that is hundreds or even thousands of times greater. This makes reducing black carbon emissions from wildfires a critical step in slowing down near-term climate change.MIDAC is based on several fundamental principles about capturing carbon:
Capture at the Source: Carbon capture is most effective at the source of emissions, not in dispersed locations.
Energy Efficiency: Minimizing energy consumption during capture is crucial, as energy production itself generates more carbon emissions.
Global Scalability: Given the ubiquitous nature of carbon, capture solutions must be scalable and affordable worldwide.
Long-Term Operation: Effective climate change mitigation requires capture systems to operate for decades, potentially centuries.
High-Density Capture: Systems should target areas of highest carbon concentration, such as urban and industrial centers, necessitating a small footprint.
Safe, Permanent Disposal: Captured carbon must be disposed of safely, cost-effectively, and permanently.
A new technology breakthrough targeting megacities as prime intervention points for carbon emissions is poised to deliver a "triple win" for climate stabilization, public health, and economic advancement. Megacities are significant contributors to global carbon emissions due to concentrated black carbon sources from transportation, residential energy, and industry. Black carbon is an exceptionally powerful climate force, with a warming impact estimated to be up to 1,500 times stronger than that of CO2 per unit of mass. It is recognized as the second most significant human-emitted climate pollutant after CO2, contributing up to 45% of all human made anthropogenic carbon emissions causing global warming. CO2 emissions disperse into surrounding air immediately and are everywhere while black carbon emissions disperse slowly and locally and are in urban and industrial areas. This makes Black Carbon reduction a critical lever for achieving quick climate gains, especially in safeguarding vulnerable cryosphere regions like the Arctic and the Himalayas.PlanetWEST’s Megacities Strategy:
A Triple Win for Climate, Health, and Economy Through Combining Carbon Dioxide and Black Carbon Mitigation
FAQs
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At the core of PlanetWEST’S technology is the innovative MIDAC (Modular Direct Air Capture) system, which harnesses the power of AI to create a global DAC network platform. AI's advanced capabilities in data analysis and pattern recognition enable the optimization of the massive carbon capture platform while minimizing energy consumption and overall cost.
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Carbon emissions reduction is needed by many energy intensive industries including automotive, steel, utilities, mining, oil and IT.
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PlanetWEST’s systems captures and processes carbon with less energy and emissions over their entire lifecylce than current DAC technologies. They require less energy and emissions to build, operate and transport captured carbon to market.