So you want to use plants to reduce CO₂
2 hours ago
- Humans produce about 1 kg of CO₂ per day, equivalent to 1 mole per hour.
- Photosynthesis requires at least 477 kJ per mole of CO₂, translating to 132.5 watts of continuous power.
- Real plants need 8 photons per CO₂ molecule, requiring 386 watts of pure red light at minimum.
- Practical inefficiencies (reflection, respiration) push power needs to ~918 watts.
- Living with that much red light is like having 765 incandescent bulbs or 5 space heaters.
- Plants saturate at ~52 watts per square meter of leaf, needing at least 17.6 m² of leaf surface.
- To sequester carbon, you must grow 4.6 kg of plant mass daily, which must be removed from the environment.
- The conclusion: an industrial indoor farm is required, not a few houseplants.