Next up in the "Can Plasma?" series: can plasma remove CO₂? Short answer: no — but the longer answer is way more interesting. Plasma can take CO₂ and turn it into things people actually want to buy.

In this episode I cover:

• Why "removing" CO₂ is the wrong framing — valorizing it is the real opportunity
• Making syngas: reacting CO₂ with methane to produce CO + H₂, a building block of the chemical industry
• Making alcohols from CO₂ and water — methanol, ethanol, and yes, actual vodka (one company sells plasma-produced vodka at a premium to climate-conscious buyers)
• Carbon suboxide (C₃O₂): a yellow-brown polymerizing powder you can make directly from diesel exhaust and use as soil filler or a construction material
• The surprising fact that hospital and university diesel backup generators are among the biggest CO₂ emitters in major cities — and what a trailer-sized plasma system parked next to one could do
• Why scale-up is hard, and why a "valorize, don't prohibit" regulatory approach might be the unlock

If you care about climate tech, plasma chemistry, or unconventional carbon capture pathways — this one's for you.

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