Recent expansions in urban agriculture The United States relies on industrial greenhouses, which use an artificially enriched atmosphere containing up to three times the amount of CO2 in normal air to improve plant and crop health .
These urban farms would benefit greatly from a constant source of free, reclaimed CO2 and water expelled from car exhausts, a technical report by researchers at Texas A&M University suggests.
Organic Rankine Cycle System
In the new integrated harnessing device, heat from the engine could power an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system, essentially a small, closed unit containing a turbine, heat exchangers, condenser, and feed pump.
Theoretically , vehicle owners could deliver cartridges filled with CO2 and water to recovery centers in the same way that people bring aluminum and steel cans today .
Or drivers could even use the CO2 and water in their own greenhouse systems or within a community, as long as the CO2 was used responsibly and fully absorbed by plants.