The greenhouse effect is one of the leading causes of global climate change, but most people have only heard about it through the news. Instead of simply assuming, with a little bit of illustration the effect itself and the causes are clearly demonstrable without much difficulty to the layman if they take a little bit of time to understand.
Crucial to the future of our planet’s environment, it must be arrested as much as possible to allow future generations to prosper.
The greenhouse effect in action
It’s crucial to understand that the greenhouse effect, in and of itself, isn’t entirely a bad thing. In fact, it’s only through this effect that life itself is possible since it’s also responsible for keeping our atmosphere and soil above the temperature of deep space.
The sun’s energy reaches the earth, where the infrared, visibile, and ultraviolet spectrums penetrate the atmosphere. From there, certain gasses absorb the intense amounts of energy before radiating it in all directions. Roughly 19% of the total energy of the sun is absorbed by the so-called “greenhouse gasses.”
The Earth reflects a good deal of the total energy as well, but that 19% is the important figure. Once the Earth’s surface has become warmed, it also radiates heat. This heat would be a total loss, resulting in an atmosphere too cold for human life at the surface, except for the fact that greenhouse gasses capture the heat and then re-radiate it which results in a livable surface temperature.
This process, while essential to life as we know it, can also have some troubling effects once things have been knocked out of “balance” however.
A problem emerges
The problem which has recently been emerging from this effect arises primarily from humanity’s influence on the atmosphere. Earth’s atmosphere has an ideal “balance” with these gasses, resulting in the relatively narrow temperature band in which most life forms thrive across the planet.
There are four gasses which are of a major concern:
- Water vapor
- Carbon dioxide
- Methane
- Ozone
Other gasses, including CFCs which are commonly used as refrigerants, also play a role but lack the concentration to have yet become among the top contributors to the greenhouse effect.
The primary gas which is of concern these days is carbon dioxide, which arises largely from industrial processes. It accounts for roughly 26% of the greenhouse effect in an “ideal” system. However, the balance has been relatively upset in the last couple of centuries due to human activity.
Carbon dioxide accounts for roughly 26% of the greenhouse effect in an “ideal” system.
The balance through much of history has ranged from around 180-280 parts per million. Things currently sit around 400ppm. This upset to the balance seems to be one of the primary drivers of rising global temperatures.
Global carbon dioxide is managed by both humans and plants, the environment in general seems to be able to reabsorb the bulk of the carbon dioxide produced. However, if things continue to increase at an unchecked rate there are major problems looking us in the face from the near future.
Industry can’t be stopped, instead there are ways to manage the carbon dioxide which is released into the atmosphere through recycling and waste management processes.
The oil industry and carbon dioxide release
One of the primary contributors to increasing carbon dioxide levels is the oil and gas sector. The EPA in the US defines them as coming in as only behind power plants in the sheer amount of carbon dioxide which is produced. Refineries also produce large amounts of this greenhouse gas, coming in third on the list of contributors.
The simple fact is that oil is also essential to the modern economy. It’s used in pretty much every manufacturing process, big or small, that is involved in modern life to any real extent. It is going to continue to be processed and manufactured.
There is a solution, however, which can lower global demand for oils in a major way: recycling oil is a notoriously difficult process but it’s been proven that it definitely can be done.
RecondOil's patented purifying processes have the potential to completely revolutionize our oil-based economy.
By processing, purifying, and then bringing oil back onto the market efficiently and quickly the sheer amount of new oil which must be processed can be lowered by quite a bit. This is particularly useful for those processes which use oil as a part of the process, rather than a power source in and of itself.
As a power source, it still bears a lot of consideration. Some oils which are simply too “dirty” to be used as a power source can be cleaned properly, to allow for it to be moved on elsewhere in the cycle rather than having to be pulled from the surface.
It might all seem theoretical, but some companies out there have made a serious effort to bring cleaner oil to the market.
RecondOil’s Double Separation Technology
RecondOil has invested a massive amount of engineering into being able to bring forth a real solution to the oil problem, beginning with the purification of oils.
Whether it’s being used in-line, to keep a continuous flow of oil going, or off-line, to have oil sent away to be purified and returned, their Double Separation Technology (DST) boasts a considerable efficiency increase while also allowing for oil to stay within the cycle for much longer than would otherwise be possible.
By lowering demand for “new” oil on the market, their patented purifying processes have the potential to completely revolutionize our modern, oil-based economy. It may not be the only thing which needs to be done in order to manhandle the greenhouse effect, but they can be a major aid in making sure that things begin to return to their natural levels.
Indeed, the mission statement of the company falls in line with this. By using their technology many companies have found themselves not only with impressive savings and efficiency increases, but also with the knowledge that they are contributing to a greener future.