DO THE PLANTS PRODUCE OXIGENE
These days when we are craving for oil, the question is how much our ecosystem is able to eliminate
carbon-dioxide (CO2) and to produce oxygen (O2).
We all know that green plants produce oxygen (O2) by decomposing carbon-dioxide. That is what we all learn in schools. But,
is this fact correct?
Let us consider the path of the carbon-dioxide (CO2) molecule in biosphere during its assumed circulation:
The molecule is going to be absorbed into the leaf of a green plant during the process of photosynthesis. Than the molecule is
decomposed into the carbon and oxygen molecules. Carbon is disposed into the plant’s tissues and oxygen
(O2) is released in
atmosphere.
But, what is going on with the carbon, for example, when the green leaf of a plant is decayed?
The plants do not have the kidneys and there is no mechanism to extract that disposed carbon out from the plant.
A small amount of the absorbed carbon is going to be transformed into carbohydrates that are used as food for
plant itself.
The carbon is being released back to atmosphere as carbon-dioxide during the oxidation process in the
plants metabolism.
A bigger part of the carbon is stored as plant’s material, i.e. as cellulose. The leafs and trunk are consisted mainly from the
cellulose and chlorophyll.
It means that either all absorbed carbon’s molecules are returned back into atmosphere or they are permanently incorporated into
plant’s body.
The second case is the branch that produces oxygen.
Regarding all above we can conclude that contribution in oxygen released in atmosphere by a plant can be achieved only by
embedding carbon into plant’s body.
Now, it is obvious that gain in oxygen produced by a green plant is not so significant as they teach us in school, especially
when we assume that a big part of plants body is being destroyed through decaying of falling leafs in autumn.
In autumn the process of reverse flow of oxygen is finally accomplished by appropriate bacteria that transforms biomass of fallen leaves
back to carbon dioxide and water spending free oxygen from atmosphere released during the process
of fallen leaves growing.
It is obvious now that when we cut a tree and burn it completely we actually spend whole amount of free oxygen produced by
the tree during whole its life.
So, the primordial atmosphere was consisted mainly from nitrogen and carbon dioxide gases and without the free oxygen.
We can consequently conclude that the present free oxygen has origin in carbon dioxide which carbonic part is disposed in
live and dead organic matter, i.e. in the tissues of leaving creatures and in coal and oil.
Regarding that all if the whole amount of biomass and fossil fuels would be burned than there would not be more free oxygen
in the atmosphere at all.
As the amount of carbon in biomass is negligible to the amount of carbon settled in the coal, natural gas and oil nearly all
free oxygen exists regarding the seats of coal, gas and oil. So, if we burn all the coal, gas and oil we would lose nearly
all oxygen in atmosphere and if we somehow survive we would pay for air as we pay for food today.
It is interesting that modern concept of oxygen cycle in nature looks like the Galen (129AD-199AD) premises about human blood
vassal system in which hart produces tons of blood every day and it is destroying in the sinews of a body.
Consequently we believe now that plants produce tons of oxygen every day simultaneously destroying carbon accumulated from the
carbon-dioxide and releasing the oxygen.
Is there a process that eliminates carbon-dioxide from atmosphere?
The process of calcium–carbonate sedimentation eliminates carbon-dioxide, but it does not release oxygen
(CO2 + CaO = CaCO3).
The carbon–dioxide trapped in the calcium–carbonate (CaCO3) is recuperating from the periodic Vulcans eruptions.
But, there is a question what would happen when a new cycle of Vulcan eruptions arrive again with a huge emission of
carbon–dioxide in already saturated atmosphere. The only solution for that situation is to stop using any fossile fuel and
to start using Ni–MH or Li–Ion batteries in cars filled with the energy of anaerobic energy sources like hydro and nuclear
plants and alternatively wind and solar power plants.
We have to stop producing smoke at all, not only by cigarette and not next year or even tomorrow – but now, immediately.
Let we consider facts about carbon-dioxide once again: Carbon-dioxide gas molecule is consisted from an atom of carbon and
two oxygen atoms.
Carbon is the most important element in organic chemistry. Carbon-dioxide is produced by burning substances rich with carbon.
Carbon-dioxide can be dissociated by high temperate on platinum membrane (favorites method in space crafts), by electrolysis of
very cold liquid carbon-dioxide with appropriate additive to increase conductivity and by chemical reaction caused by light in
the chlorophyll. We can produce the oxygen in massive industrial process only by electrolysis of carbon-dioxide by electricity
produced in nuclear power plants. As much as we consider that the nuclear power plants is dirty and polluting technology, all
other technologies are much more dangerous. We have to vote for the heavy water
(D2O) reactors because they produce much
smaller nuclear waste, they work on natural uranium not on enriched contrary to ordinary water reactors that have to use
enriched uranium obtained by the very expensive and technologically intensive process and they have small utilization of
fuel so they have big amount of nuclear waste.
Why we do not use electricity obtained from the heavy water reactors? All because they are able to produce the plutonium –
the basic element of nuclear bomb. we are all doomed to use ordinary water reactors for our electricity to prevent massive
production of atomic bombs. And even these reactors are better then the coal power plants. The hot and cold fusion are
significantly better ideas but they are not functioning now (What ever happened to Patterson cell?). So we have to use what we
can and have and we do not have time to waste on anything else. My intention is not to praise nuclear industry but to expose
some obvious facts. “Green Sun” waits on us.
See also: CLIMATE CONTROL
Author of this article is Andrija S. Radovic´,
Press the following button to download the article in the PDF format: