Boris Rybakov, Chief Technologist of ANO «Hydrogen Technological Solutions», wrote a note on climate change on Earth
In recent years, there have been two notable factors that have affected the climate of our planet: an increase in average air temperature and a rise in the frequency and intensity of heavy rainstorms, which lead to flooding. In 2020, Boris Rybakov and Maxim Savitenko, directors of ANO VTR, decided to explore the hydrogen potential in the energy sector. They reviewed a wide range of Russian and international publications on this topic. Both Russian and international scientists have noted that water vapor is a potent greenhouse gas, yet Western colleagues have focused exclusively on combating carbon dioxide emissions. The researchers wondered: why is this the case? Is it due to ignorance of physics, or a long-term strategy? It's worth noting that the Paris Agreement does not mention carbon dioxide specifically, but rather calls for reducing all greenhouse gas emissions. When did the shift from «greenhouse gas» to «carbon dioxide» happen? After the first publication by researchers from ANO «HTS» drew attention to the fact that water vapor is a greenhouse gas, there was a wave of criticism on social media. How justified is this? In school physics lessons, we learn that relative humidity (RH) is a measure of how far water vapor is from saturation in the air. The warmer the air is, the more moisture it can hold, and vice versa. The cooler the air, the less water vapor it can hold. The school syllabus also states that there is:
- water vapor in the air
- the mass of water vapor depends on the temperature of the air. Furthermore, the higher the temperature, the more water vapor there is in the air!
Western researchers have noticed that when the concentration of CO2 in the air increases, the air temperature rises because carbon dioxide reflects the Earth's infrared radiation. An increase in air temperature leads to an increase in water vapour evaporation. Since water vapour is a greenhouse gas, it too reflects the Earth's infrared radiation, resulting in a further increase in air temperature. In other words, this process is self-perpetuating!
At one of the climate conferences held in Moscow in 2021, a report was presented by a representative of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which listed the gases that are classified as greenhouse gases. Water vapour was not among this list. During a break, Boris Rybakov asked: «Why didn't the report say anything about water vapour». The answer discouraged him: «Nobody set such a task!». That is, the representative of the Russian academic science knows that water vapour is a greenhouse gas, but keeps silent about it!
Meanwhile, the whole world watches as temperatures rise, thunderstorms rage and dams collapse. Several countries report on devices that capture carbon dioxide from the air, but there is no mention of combating the release of water vapour into the atmosphere!
So what is air made of? Information from the Internet: «On average, clean dry air (at sea level, at a temperature of 0 °C and a pressure of 1 atm.) contains:
78.084 % nitrogen (by volume);
20.9476 % oxygen;
0.934 % argon;
0.0314 % carbon dioxide;
trace amounts of other noble gases, nitrogen and sulphur oxides, carbon monoxide, methane, ammonia, ozone, hydrogen and a number of other impurities».
In this case we are talking about dry air. What is the proportion of water in the air? Also information from the Internet: «in the air with a temperature of +25 ° C and at 100 per cent humidity contains 23,04 g/m 3 of water».
When recalculating the composition of the air in mass percentages, taking into account the mass of water vapour, we get:
66,41 % (mass) nitrogen;
20,41 % (mass) oxygen;
0,04 % (mass) carbon dioxide (carbonic acid);
1,56 % (mass) water vapour;
11,57 % (mass) argon.
Dividing the mass of water vapour by the mass of carbon dioxide, we get the number 38! That is, the mass of water vapour in the air at 100% humidity is 38 times the mass of carbon dioxide!
There is something to think about!
Chief Technologist of ANO «Hydrogen Technological Solutions»
B.A. Rybakov