Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesqf
OK, but where are those carbon, sulfur, & phosphorus-containing compounds going to come from? This is just basic conservation of energy: if your bacteria are going to run the endothermic reaction that splits apart CO2, then they have to also be running some exothermic reaction(s) to get the energy. Your chemosynthetic bacteria are just using different reactions on compounds found in rocks.
As for the thermodynamics, you seem to have missed an important point, which is that you can't extract energy from something that's at a constant temperature. You need a temperature difference. Thermophile bacteria (the sort that live in hot springs & ocean vents) aren't extracting energy from the heat of their evironment, that's just where they live comfortably.
|
Are you suggesting that I can't stick a turbine into an extremely hot flow and get work? I understand there has to be a differential. . .but the differential doesn't cause the work. That is how a turbine works.
The turbine converts the enthalpy of the inlet state to work and the enthalpy at the exit state. That said if I yank the turbine out of the system the temperature is the same on both sides.
As to the sulfur compounds. . .that happens when you burn coal. We are talking about using bacteria to clean and convert exhaust gasses from a coal-fired burner(not the boiler) into less co2, more o2 and some fuel as well as alot of bacteria growth. All of the compounds except phosphur are available in coal exhausts.
The bacteria are then using the heat to aide with their own enzymes in doing active conversion of chemicals into new chemicals. The result is the temperature downstream of the bacteria is marginally cooler(depending on how many bacteria) and there is alot less CO2.
For the sake of argument just to make you happy we'll say that it requires sunlight and we are using algae only. Its already been done. The only problem still remaining to use algae as a filter is it would have to be replaced too often because it can't take the fatigue loading. If you don't believe me string together a phrase that has something to do with CO2 algae and power plant and hit I'm feeling lucky. More than likely you'll get a relevant page.
The aforementioned process is easier because it can run 24/7 instead of 12/7. Like the Algae though survivability is poor and not competitive at this point. However, the results are getting much more promising with more firms developing cyclic resistant algae as well as the bacteria achieving longer lifetimes.