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Pilot Test Of Storing Carbon Dioxide In Rocks Shows Impressive Outcome (theaustralian.com.au)

Posted by msmash on from the plan-b dept.

For years we have been trying to find different ways to limit carbon dioxide produced from fossil fuels. Some researchers believe that things would be very convenient if we could just deposit carbon dioxide in rocks. A pilot project around this idea has shown an impressive result. John Ross, reporting for the Australian: Scientists say they have demonstrated a foolproof way of sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide -- turning it into rock. An international team of researchers says it has demonstrated for the first time that CO2 can be permanently locked away from the atmosphere by injecting it into volcanic bedrock. The study, reported this morning in the journal Science, could overcome the leakage problems that have plagued attempts to bury CO2 gas underground. Lead author Juerg Matter said between 95 per cent and 98 per cent of the injected CO2 had been mineralised in less than two years, "which is amazingly fast.""Until now it was thought this process would take hundreds to thousands of years," University of Southampton, which led the new study, said in a statement. "The current study has demonstrated that it can take as little as two years."

4 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. If it was that easy and worked that well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Then you did it wrong, and missed something.

    1. Re:If it was that easy and worked that well by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Then you did it wrong, and missed something.

      This process is expensive and there are better ways to do it. CO2 can be used for enhanced oil recovery which can sequester carbon while also helping improve yield. Since it has positive economic value, it is much more likely to actually happen.

  2. Cars? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My very first thought was this can be used as part of the Venus terraform

  3. Re:Just plant more trees! by ceoyoyo · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You can't just plant trees, you have to harvest them when they're grown up and sequester them. Otherwise you'll just run out of land. People don't really like the idea of cutting down forests and burying or sinking the wood into the ocean.

    We'd have a nice little carbon sequestration economy going if we made it illegal to recycle paper or wood products.