A BYU professor has a solution to combat global warming at a lower cost than any ever before.

"If you are going to do something about global warming, you have to take carbon dioxide and store it somewhere else," said Larry Baxter, a chemical engineering professor.

Experts in the energy supply industry know that it is not realistic for humans to discontinue using fossil fuels, Baxter said.

Fossil fuels, which consist of natural gas, coal and oil, generates carbon dioxide and the output of that gas perpetuates global warming.

Due to the dangers that global warming presents, states such as California are enforcing federal regulations that limit the amount of carbon dioxide that power plants can emit into the atmosphere.

These new mandates significantly increase the cost of using fossil fuels. The cost associated with sequestering carbon dioxide will raise production costs by 80 percent, Baxter said.

The process of sequestering involves carbon capture and storage.

"They take the captured carbon dioxide and inject it into salt water rivers that are deep underground and over a long time the gas will evaporate," Baxter said.

The average price for capturing one ton of carbon dioxide is approximately $60 to $65. Baxter however, has developed a way to perform the same task at $33 a ton which is a 40 percent decrease in cost.

"The process is much easier than others, which is why it's cheaper,' Baxter said. "We have also developed new ways to inject the carbon dioxide into wells ensuring that it will never come back out."

Baxter is currently working towards proving the legitimacy of his invention on a small scale, then moving it to a commercial stage.

"Once people realize that it works, we will hopefully build this all over the world to help capture carbon dioxide," Baxter said.

Baxter spoke at the Energy Discovery Conference last Thursday to promote his newly developed ideas.

Baxter has the support and aid of BYU professionals whose job consists of commercializing intellectual inventions.

"Professors don't have a means to commercialize their inventions," said L.H. Pryzbyla, associate director of the technology transfer department. "It's hard to teach and run your own company at the same time."

Professors are able to continue to research and teach while the technology transfer department handles the rest.

"We take the technology, get a disclosure from the professor, determine whether we want to patent it, and we either find a company to license it or start our own company," Pryzbyla said.

BYU ranks as one of the top five schools across the nation for commercializations.

Baxter received permission from the university to start his own company. Together with his son, they have formed a company called Sustainable Energy Solutions.

They hope to demonstrate the feasibility of their new process to experts in the energy arena, Baxter said.

"Baxter is a prolific researcher and his expertise on important issues relating to world energy policies are in high demand," said Richard Rowley, chair of BYU's chemical engineering department, as stated in a press release.

"With the nation's energy needs at a forefront and with the high level of coal resources in this country, Professor Baxter's work on coal gasification is not only of scientific interest but also of great importance to all of us."

Copyright Brigham Young University 21 Mar 2008