Scientific scepticism is about examining the hypothesis, looking at the evidence and making and testing predictions, it's not about just saying "I don't like it" it's about asking for proof behind claims and being willing to change your mind should better evidence become available. I am, by nature, sceptical, I like to see proof, to see well reasoned argument and to see facts, I refuse to believe something is true just because someone says it's true. I've been around long enough to know I don't know everything even if it is something I'm supposedly "expert" at.Ian James wrote:Sceptic
n
1. (Philosophy) a person who habitually doubts the authenticity of accepted beliefs
2. a person who mistrusts people, ideas, etc., in general
3. (Philosophy) a person who doubts the truth of religion
I am happy to be engaged on any topic I join. I am especially happy to have a person who calls themselves by the moniker Sceptic join the fray.
I have been a sceptic of different ideas on many occasions. Sitting comfortably up among the branches eyeing jealously those below me feasting greadily on a juicy idea, watching carefully, should a luckless soul carelessly let a morsel slip, I'll quickly scamper down and snatch my treasure 'fore returning speedily to the safety of my lofty perch.
The amount of carbon emitted by my fertilizer factory is an interesting topic to discuss but for me it is not a matter of huge importance. Wether or not I am able to correctly calculate the carbon content of the gas is not particularly high on my list of things upon which I intend to hang my hat.
What really interests me is will this technology allow me to grow profitable crops without the need for fertilizer?
It is not in my nature to let distracting discussions about the finer details get between me and the truth.
The answer to that question will be in the pudding.
Now, back to your exhaust, the concentration of CO2 going in to your engine is around 350ppm, the concentration of CO2 coming out is about 64 000ppm so atmospheric concentration of CO2 has very little to do with it which means that 99 point whatever percent of the CO2 coming out of the exhaust is from the burning of diesel, so figure out your rate of diesel use per hectare and work from there.
Moving on (or forward as some would put it), what effect would this CO2 have on the soil? I'm guessing probably very little and would most would escape before it could be fixed (I'm not too well up on soil biota but CO2 is generally fixed by photosynthesis which requires light, there would be some fixing by algae and small plants in the top cm or so where a little light can penetrate but generally the soil is where decomposition takes place where organic molecules {sugars, starches, lignins etc} are converted to CO2 rather than the other way around).
However, and here's the good news, the various nitrogen compounds, Ammonia and the various nitrogen oxides, are in a form available for uptake by plants and can be disolved into the moisture in the soil and this will give a boost to crops (and I must add my congrats to how your crops are looking, very nice), pumping nitrogen compounds into the soil is something fairly common, though the amounts pumped in on the big operations isn't good for the soil biota. I am interested in seeing how this goes over a couple of years and what effects it has on the soil biota, pH and organic content.
Sceptically yours
sceptic