Potential of wind turbines on the alteration of carbon dioxide concentration

Anthropogenic carbondioxide (CO₂) emissions are a major factor in global warming, requiring significant cuts to combat climate change. A crucial technology to reduce global CO₂ concentration is direct air capture (DAC) of CO₂. However, existing DAC techniques are expensive because of low CO₂ concentrations, and they frequently rely on fossil fuel-based energy. In this article, we investigate how wind turbines can influence local CO₂ levels and potentially collaborate with DAC and other technologies. To explore this idea, we performed large-eddy simulations using two 5 MW commercial-scale wind turbines. We incorporated realistic CO₂ profiles collected from 13 different global locations across different seasons. The simulations were performed under neutral atmospheric boundary layer conditions. The results demonstrate that the wake recovery mechanism of a wind turbine promotes rapid mixing of CO₂ both above and below the turbine blade tips in the wind turbine wake. In cases where the initial concentrations of CO₂ were elevated above the turbine, downward entrainment of CO₂ occurred. Conversely, when high concentrations of CO₂ were present in the lower atmosphere, wind turbines facilitated a decrease in concentration at that layer by up to 138 kg/m within the intermediate wake (within 7 diameters) of the second turbine, T₂. These discoveries inspire further investigation into the potential synergies between wind turbines and DAC devices or local CO₂ pollutant diverters, depending on the prevailing CO₂ profile. Consequently, this article marks the initial showcase of wind turbines' capability to influence CO₂ levels by creating an entrainment and removal effect.