Crowd oil not crude oil

Abstract

Climate change represents an existential, global threat to humanity, yet its delocalized nature complicates climate action. Here, the authors propose retrofitting air conditioning units as integrated, scalable, and renewable-powered devices capable of decentralized CO₂ conversion and energy democratization.

Fig. 1

The vision of crowd oil. Renewable oil wells, a distributed social technology, whereby people in homes, offices and commercial buildings all around the world, collectively harvest renewable electricity and heat and use air conditioning and ventilation systems to capture CO₂ and H₂O from ambient air and convert it, by chemical processes, into renewable synthetic oil—crowd oil—substituting for non-renewable fossil-based oil—a step towards a circular CO₂ economy for the benefit of all

Fig. 2

Envisioned modular, on-site renewable hydrocarbon synthesis system based on CO₂ capture from thin air. Counterclockwise from top: Powered by renewable electricity, using modified A/C and ventilation systems CO₂ and water can be captured from ambient air. Via electro-, photo- or thermocatalytic processes, synthesis gas is generated which is further converted to hydrocarbon fuels by miniaturized chemical processes such as the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis plus integrated upgrading processes (e.g. hydrocracking) allowing to further increase product yield and quality. The synthesized hydrocarbon fuels can be stored and/or transported for further utilization. In case of combustion for mobility or power generation, in this scenario the CO₂ emitted is again captured, finally allowing for a closed, net zero carbon cycle, thus, enabling a circular CO₂ economy based on hundreds, thousands, and ultimately millions of modular plants. When stored without further utilization even negative emissions can be realized

Fig. 3

Modular plants for CO₂ capture and conversion. Commercialized modular systems for CO₂ capture directly from air (a) and for generation of H₂ by H₂O electrolysis as well as production of hydrocarbon fuels from CO₂ and H₂ (b) via compact chemical reactor technology. Copyright permission, Climeworks AG and INERATEC GmbH

Fig. 4

The Frankfurt Fair Tower. Copyright permission by Gerd Bezner (2018)

Fig. 5

Aerial view of Vauban neighbourhood in Freiburg, Germany. Copyright permission by Erich Meyer, Hasel|Stadt Freiburg (2012)