Carbon Negative System

Abstract

Carbon dioxide molecules can be fixed by growing plants through plant photosynthesis. When the photons that cause the plant synthesis are properly tuned to enhance plant photosynthesis and are generated by a combination of a solar panel of carbon footprint below a threshold and a LED light source of carbon footprint below a threshold and conversion efficiency above a threshold, more CO.sub.2 molecule will be fix by the plant photosynthesis than emitted by the system.

Claims

1. A carbon negative system, comprising: a solar panel having a carbon footprint of 18 g CO.sub.2 e/kWh or less; and an LED light source having a carbon footprint of 20 g CO.sub.2 e/kWh or less and a conversion efficiency of 30.4% or higher coupled to the solar panel.

2. The system of claim 1 in which the solar panel is connected to the LED with an intervening battery.

3. The system of claim 2, which further comprises a voltage converter.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a growing plant to which the LED light source is directed.

5. The system of claim 1, in which the solar panel is configured to face the sun.

6. A carbon negative system, comprising: a greenhouse; a solar panel affixed on the green house and having a carbon footprint of 18 g CO.sub.2 e/kWh or less; and an LED light source having a carbon footprint of 20 g CO.sub.2 e/kW or less and a conversion efficiency of 30.4% or higher coupled to the solar panel.

7. The system of claim 6, in which the solar panel is connected to the LED with an intervening battery.

8. The system of claim 7, which further comprises a voltage converter.

9. The system of claim 6, further comprising growing plants to which the LED light source is directed.

10. The system of claim 6, in which the solar panel is configured to face the sun.

11. A process of constructing a carbon negative system, comprising the steps of: selecting a solar panel having a carbon footprint of 18 g CO.sub.2e/kWh or less; selecting an LED light source having a carbon footprint of 20 g CO.sub.2 e/kWh or less and conversion efficiency of 30.4% or higher; and connecting the solar panel to the LED light source through an optional intervening battery.

12. The process of claim 11, in which the solar panel is connected to the LED without an intervening battery.

13. The process of claim 11, which further comprises connecting a voltage converter to the battery.

14. The process of claim 11, further comprising growing a plant by directing the LED light source is to the plant.

15. The process of claim 11, further comprising tuning the solar panel to face the sun.

16. A process for constructing a carbon negative system, comprising the steps of: providing a greenhouse; affixing a solar panel on the green house, the solar panel having a carbon footprint of 18 g CO.sub.2e/kWh or less; providing an LED light source having carbon foot print of 20 g CO.sub.2 e/kWh or less and conversion efficiency of 30.4% or higher; and connecting the LED connected to the solar panel through an optional intervening battery.

17. The process of claim 16, in which the solar panel is connected to the LED without an intervening battery.

18. The process of claim 18, which further comprises providing a voltage converter.

19. The process of claim 16, further comprising growing plants to which the LED light source is directed.

20. The process of claim 16, further comprising configuring the solar panel is to face the sun.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FEATURES

[0029] FIG. 1 depicts several components of a carbon negative system embodying some aspects of this invention.

[0030] FIG. 2 depicts a carbon negative system including a greenhouse and embodying some aspects of this invention

[0031] FIG. 3 depicts a process of constructing a carbon negative system embodying some aspects of this invention.

SEVERAL ASPECTS OF A CARBON NEGATIVE SYSTEM

Conversion of Carbon Emission

[0032] The realization of a carbon negative system involves recognition of the carbon footprint of the energy source that powers the system. For example the published data from First Solar Inc. of Temple, Ariz., U.S. show that by 2012, it produced 7 GW of PV solar modules with CO.sub.2 emission of 1.4 Megatons based on the LCA.

[0033] Inventor converted this figure into the g CO.sub.2 e/kWh unit as follows:

7 GW=7×10.sup.6 kW; 1.4 Megaton of CO.sub.2=1.4×10.sup.12 grams;

[0034] According to the publication from First Solar, the installed solar modules produce 1.3 TeraWatt-hour of electricity per GW per year so 7 GW of solar panel produces 9.1×10.sup.9 kWh of electricity per year. With a LCA estimation of total CO.sub.2 emission of 1.4 Megatons, and with an estimated lifespan of the PV modules of 25 years, the figure of merit for the First Solar Inc. PV modules (its carbon footprint) is 6.15 g CO.sub.2 e/kWh.

The LED Lighting for Photon Generation

[0035] Inventor also discovered based on published data fron Osram Licht AG of Germany, the LCA carbon footprint of an 8 watt LED as an example to use for converting electrical power into photons for plant photosynthesis. The material list of LED lamps includes the following ingredients: glasses, ferrous metal, aluminum and other non-ferrous metals, plastic, electronic components resin compound, and minute quantities of cement and mercury. The total carbon footprint in the manufacturing phase for the 8 watt LED lamp is listed as 2.4 kg CO.sub.2 e. The published estimated life span for the LED is 25,000 hours (2.85 years). Inventor calculated the CO.sub.2 emission from this Osram LED to be 12 g CO.sub.2 e/kWh for each LED.

[0036] The conversion efficiency is listed 30.4% for this LED (1 kWh output from LED requires 3.29 kWh input energy). For each kWh of energy enters the LED, 0.304 kWh is converted into photons and the balance goes to heat generation. The operating phase of carbon footprint then can be attributed to the carbon footprint of the power source. And for each joule of energy

[0037] There is no data from Osram on the recycle or disposal phase of the LED. The production phase and the operating phase will be used in this paper as a lower threshold for the intended purpose of constructing a carbon negative system.

The Plant Photosynthesis

[0038] For purpose of illustration, Inventor uses photons of 450 nm wavelength as example to calculate its energy. The energy of a photon is equal to E=hc/λ, where E is energy, h is the Planck's constant, c is the speed of light, and λ is its wavelength. The energy of a photon with the exemplary wavelength of 450 nm has the energy of 4.17×10.sup.−19 joules, or one joule of energy is equivalent to 2.4×10.sup.18 photons with the wavelength of 450 nm. One kilowatt hour of energy is equal to 3.6×10.sup.6 joules; or equivalent to 8.64×10.sup.24 photons with the wavelength around 450 nm.

CO.SUB.2 .Molecules Fixation by Plant Photosynthesis

[0039] Inventor studied plant photosynthesis and recognized that because the solar spectrum covers a wide range (from ultra-violet to infrared) at least 60% of the photons from nature sun light do not actively participate in natural plant photosynthesis, and even if absorbed by the plant will turn into heat. With natural sun light, it takes 10 photons to convert one CO.sub.2 into biomass by plants including algae, according to the following formula:

CO.sub.2+H.sub.2O+10 photons=CH.sub.2O+O.sub.2.

[0040] Inventor also recognized that the conversion efficiency doubles when the impinging photons on plant surface having wavelengths around 480 nm or 650 nm.

CO.sub.2+H.sub.2O+5 photons=CH.sub.2O+O.sub.2.

[0041] According to the above formula, every 5 photons of the proper wavelength can convert one CO.sub.2 molecule into one biomass molecule and in the process eliminate the CO.sub.2 molecule from earth atmosphere. The following formula depicts the number of photons that will take to fix one kilogram of CO.sub.2: [0042] a) number of CO.sub.2 molecules in, one kilogram is 1 kg=1×10.sup.3 grams=1×10.sup.3/44.01 grams per mole=2.27×10.sup.1 moles=2.27×10.sup.1×6.02×10.sup.23 molecules per mole=1.37×10.sup.25 molecules [0043] b) number of photons to fix 1 kilogram of CO.sub.2 is 1.37×10.sup.25×5 photons=6.84×10.sup.25 photons. [0044] c) energy for fixing 1 kg of CO.sub.2 through plant photosynthesis is 6.84×10.sup.25 photons/8.64×10.sup.24 photon/kWh=7.92 kWh.

A CO.SUB.2 .Fixing System of PV Module and LED Light Source

[0045] Inventor tested a system comprises an exemplary PV module manufactured by First Solar coupled to an exemplary LED light source manufactured by Osram to verify its capability to fix CO.sub.2. Consider the carbon footprint: each kilowatt-hour of electricity generated by a First Solar PV module will cause 6.15 g of CO.sub.2 emission. And for each kilowatt-hour of electricity fed into an Osram LED light source of 30.4% conversion efficiency, it generates additional 12 g of CO.sub.2, and generates 0.304 kWh equivalent of photons. So the accumulated carbon dioxide emission is 6.15 g (from PV)+12 g (from LED) CO.sub.2 e/kWh=18.15 g CO.sub.2 e/kWh. For each one kilowatt hour electric energy generated by the PV panel that goes into the LED, 0.304 kWh equivalent of photons are generated from it. Each 7.92 kWh equivalent photon can fix one kilogram of CO.sub.2 molecules. Therefore 0.304 kWh equivalent of photons can fix 38.4 gram of CO.sub.2 molecules, which is almost 2 times the CO.sub.2 emission from the system. According to the description presented herein, a skill artisan will be able to construct a system by combining a power source with a carbon footprint of 18 g CO2/kWh and an LED light source with a carbon footprint of 20 g CO.sub.2/kWh. When the light from the LED light source is absorbed by a plant matter, carbon dioxide molecules will be fixed through plant photosynthesis, and the number of CO.sub.2 fixed by the system will exceed the LCA carbon emission of the system,

[0046] Even considering that a small portion of photons will be reflected from the surface of the plant and not taking part in the plant photosynthesis action, the majority of the photons that are absorbed will be more than sufficient to fix the CO.sub.2 molecules emitted into the earth atmosphere according to LCA.

Detail Description of Embodiment

[0047] In additional to the summary presented above, the invention will be further illustrated through the detail description of the following embodiments.

EXAMPLE

[0048] FIG. 1 depicts the components of a carbon negative system that embodies certain aspects of this invention. Element 1 depicts a solar panel that may be positioned to face the sun. Element 2 depicts an LED light source, which in this embodiment is arranged to shine directly on a growing plant 4, which may be algae. Element 3 depicts an optional battery that is connected to the solar panel 1 and to the LED light source 2. Element 3 may also include an optional voltage converter that converts the DC voltage from the solar panel into AC voltage.

[0049] As explained in previous section of this paper, the solar panel and the LED light source both carry their respective carbon footprint. The exemplary solar panel from First Solar has a carbon footprint of 6.15 g CO.sub.2 e/kWh according to Inventor's calculation, and the exemplary LED from Osram has a carbon footprint of 3.65 g CO.sub.2 e/kWh. As illustrated in previous sections of this paper, the combination of such a solar panel and a LED light source will be able to fix the total CO.sub.2 emission for the life span of the solar panel and the LED light source when the LED light source is directed to a growing plant, with allowance for light reflection from the plant surface and component performance degradation due to aging.

EXAMPLE 2

[0050] FIG. 2 depicts another embodiment of this invention, the system including a solar panel 5 affixed to a greenhouse 7, which may be configured to grow plants include algae. The solar panel, which is exposed to sunlight, has a carbon footprint of 6.15 g CO.sub.2 e/kWh may be direct connected to an LED light source 6, which has a carbon footprint of 3.65 g CO.sub.2 e/kWh, or indirectly through a battery as depicted in element 8. This system is able to fix the CO.sub.2 emission from the combination of the solar panel and the LED light source when the photons 10 are directed to growing plants 9 including algae. Element 8 may also include an optional voltage converter that converts the DC voltage from the solar panel into AC voltage.

EXAMPLE 3

[0051] FIG. 3 depicts the process of construction of a system that can achieve carbon negativity. The process includes the following steps. At step 301, one selects a solar panel that has a carbon footprint of 6.15 g CO.sub.2 e/kWh or lower and a LED light source that has a carbon footprint of 3.65 g CO.sub.2 e/kWh or lower and a conversion efficient of 30.4% or higher. At step 302, one connects the solar panel, which may be affixed to a greenhouse and exposed to sun light, to the LED light source. The connection may also be through an optional battery and converter. At step 303, one directs the photons generated by the LED light source to growing plants including algae, which absorb the majority of the photons with a small amount of photons reflected from the surface of the plants.

[0052] The selection of solar panel from the First Solar and the LED light source from Osram for constructing the exemplary carbon negative system is only for illustration purposes. Before this invention, specific carbon footprint data from solar panel and LED light source are not readily available to the public. The limitations in the appending claims on the solar panel and the LED light source are based on what are commercially available to person skill in the art. It is contemplated that as technology progresses, the availability will increase.

[0053] The above selection of a solar panel as the power source does not limit the scope of the invention, which can be applied to new systems that include an electric power source having a finite carbon footprint, which when added to the carbon footprint of the light source, the total carbon footprint is less than the amount of carbon dioxide that can be fixed through plant photosynthesis by the light in terms of photons. Nuclear power, wind power, and geothermal power, all of which have been contemplated by Inventor as viable candidates at present or in the rear future and they are within the scope of this invention.