Giant microwaves lock carbon in charcoal
Climate expert claims to have developed cleanest way of fixing CO2 in 'biochar' for burial on an industrial scaleGiant microwave ovens that can "cook" wood into charcoal could become our best tool in the fight against global warming, according to a leading British climate scientist.Chris Turney, a professor of geography at the University of Exeter, said that by burying the charcoal produced from microwaved wood, the carbon dioxide absorbed by a tree as it grows can remain safely locked away for thousands of years. The technique could take out billions of tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere every year.Fast-growing trees such as pine could be "farmed" to act specifically as carbon traps — microwaved, buried and replaced with a fresh crop to do the same thing again.Turney has built a 5m-long prototype of his microwave, which produces a tonne of CO2 for $65. He plans to launch his company,...
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