Scientists Plan Underwater Carbon Capture and Storage

US scientists are assessing a form of carbon capture and storage that involves underwater rocks, it has emerged. They envisage linking up high CO2-emitting power sites to vast underwater carbon sinks, and are currently trying to identify the best sites for this.

According to their study – which appears in the present edition of the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences journal – optimum locations for underwater carbon capture and storage look to be situated off America’s East Coast, and they are close to areas such as New Jersey and Long Island. Here, there are concentrations of basalt rock which – compared to alternative rock forms like sandstone – poses certain advantages for carbon capture purposes.

Underwater CO2 Capture

The research behind the new underwater CO2 capture study is being carried out by a team led by Columbia University’s David S. Goldberg, who commenting on the philosophy behind it, said: “The coast makes sense. That’s where people are. That’s where power plants are needed. And by going offshore, you can reduce risks.”

At one location in the New Jersey area, basalt rock presence is believed to extend to approximately 1.7 cubic miles. This gives it the potential to capture as much as one billion tons of CO2 – equivalent to four decades worth of emissions produced by a quartet of coal-burning fossil fuel sites.

In essence, basalt rock allows trapped CO2 to change, chemically, into a limestone-like substance. “The basalt itself is very reactive, and in the end, you make limestone,” Rutgers University’s Dennis Kent – another of those involved in the study, explained. “It’s the ultimate repository.”

Carbon Dioxide Capture

Those opposed to carbon dioxide capture and storage techniques remain adamant that no widescale demonstration of the technique’s effectiveness has taken place, that it’s high-cost and that there’s no guarantee that the carbon couldn’t escape back into the atmosphere. They add that extra energy is required to power CCS strategies, which in turn creates additional emissions. As far as new climate change measures are concerned, renewable energy sources like solar, geothermal and wind are still favoured, in the main.

See also:

Air Capture to Reduce Atmospheric CO2

Underground Water for Carbon Capture