Sea-bed plan to store carbon

[paparush]

Storing carbon dioxide under the sea-bed could help to reduce global warming, according to US scientists.
The proposals involve pumping the gas miles underground then injecting it under the sea floor.

There is enough space for almost unlimited carbon emissions, a US team reports in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Previous plans to store carbon under the sea have drawn criticism because of concerns over leakage and safety.

Supporters of the latest idea say that it overcomes these drawbacks and can be done with existing technology.

Previous suggestions for tackling rising carbon emissions by removing the gas from the atmosphere and storing it underground include:

* Storing carbon dioxide in oil and gas fields, or coal beds
* Injecting CO2 into the deep ocean
* Chemically transforming CO2 into solids or liquids that are thermodynamically stable

But these methods have raised concerns, notably the risk of leakage from geological storage sites, and fears that C02 dissolved in large quantities in the ocean might harm marine ecosystems.

Read the full story @ the BBC-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5255444.stm

[ramapo]

1. CO2 pipelines?

How will the gas be transported from CO2 hotspots like coal plants to an offshore facility?

Sounds impractical at best.

What about burning less fossil fuel? Seems like a simple idea.

[Lindacooks]

2. That's interesting, but aren't these large-scale changes

riddled with potential problems?

Like if Halliburton gets the contract and they botch the whole thing?

[cosmik debris]

3. It has been done for 30 to 40 years

Carbon Dioxide is pumped into oil bearing formations to pressurize the formation and enhance oil revovery.

[phantom power]

4. Dissolving that much CO2 in the oceans will fucking kill them.

Kill them even faster than we are already, that is.

[paparush]

7. Theyr'e not talking about pumping into the ocean, but under the earth's

crust..

From the article:
<<snip>>
The latest idea involves pumping carbon dioxide gas down to a depth of 3,000m (1.86miles) and injecting it below the sea floor.

The high pressure and the low temperatures would turn the carbon gas into a liquid that is denser than the water around it, says a joint Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University team.

Experiments suggest that ice-like compounds would be formed in which the water molecules act like cages, trapping the carbon dioxide molecules within.

According to the researchers, this would ensure that the gas remains trapped in the sediment and would be secure enough to withstand even the most severe earthquakes.
<</snippage>>

[phantom power]

8. I note that they say "in the sediment," not "under the earth's crust."

If you ask me, that sounds like "methane-hydrate 2 -- electric boogaloo." And the methane hydrates are a climate bomb with a randomized fuse.

[phantom power]

9. And here's another thing that bugs me about this...

Their scheme involves the CO2 becoming liquid due to the pressure/temp conditions. But it's in the sediment, which means it's in contact with all the water. And a liquified gas in contact with all that water is going to dissolve into the water, at some rate. Which will inexorably turn the oceans acidic with carbonic acid, which brings me back to the bit about turning the oceans into a wasteland.

[hunter]

5. Ranks right up there with disposing nuclear wastes in subduction zones.

On a distant planet they have a Heinlein Feely reality show roughly translated as: Stupid Humans

[Dead_Parrot]

6. "C02... might harm marine ecosystems."

Another press release from the Ministry of Duh.

:eyes: