Growing tomatoes with refinery CO2
Netherlands: in 2005, Pernis refinery in the Netherlands started supplying pure CO2 to local greenhouses
More CO2 could be damaging to the climate, but it is good for growing fruits and vegetables. Doubling the concentration of CO2 in a greenhouse increases tomato production by 25%. In the Netherlands growers run their natural gas heaters in summer expressly to boost CO2 levels.
In 2005, Shell's Pernis refinery began supplying Dutch greenhouses with pure CO2 produced from its hydrogen-making plant. The gas is distributed by a consortium called Organic CO2 Assimilation for Plants and provides a winning solution. The growers save money and energy; it is much cheaper and more efficient to buy Pernis CO2 than to use their gas heaters; and the refinery cuts its emissions and has a market for its captured CO2. The total emission reduction is approximately 325,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.
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