Ancient rocks yield facts on CO2 storage

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2016/ancient-rocks-yield-facts-on-co2-storage

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Ancient rocks yield facts on CO2 storage[/font]

[font size=4]Natural underground reservoirs of carbon dioxide are giving scientists vital clues how best to store emissions of the gas.[/font]

[font size=3]…

In the most complete analysis of its kind, researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde studied data on 76 natural CO2 reservoirs in America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

These gas pools – many more than a million years old – were formed as a result of geological changes, volcanic activity, or from decayed plants and animals.

…

Researchers have identified geological conditions best suited to long-term CO2 storage – such as optimum temperature, pressure, and type of rock.

They found that sites deeper than 1200 metres, high density of gas and multiple, thick rocks to cap reservoirs were all beneficial.

…[/font]

Jun 20, 2016[/font]

[Agnosticsherbet]

1. Science, it does a planet good.

We need to start programs to sequester carbon.

[Warpy]

2. They've also pumped CO2 into deep, hot basalt in Iceland and watched it turn to limestone.

The process took a few months but sequestering was complete. In BC, Canada, they've developed a process to trap CO2 in the atmosphere.

Now all we need to do is get all these people together and we can start to solve the problem before we're all dead.

(I'm baking in the southwest so I get to be pessimistic)

[Nihil]

3. That is a *much* better option than "reservoirs" of CO2 ...

Performing the natural conversion to limestone using hot mafic rocks is
a safe way to "store" CO2 - probably the *only* safe way.

Pushing it down into what was previously a natural reservoir (before the
drilling bit unsealed it for the first time) and hoping that it will stay there
forever is ridiculously stupid - only good for extracting money from the
well-meaning who have little background in science (or history).

e.g., Lake Nyos, 1986, 1700+ people killed + livestock + wild creatures in
a 16 mile radius ... the solution is to bleed the CO2 directly into the atmosphere
rather than risk letting it build up again for another catastrophic event.

(And to think that some of the people supporting the above "coke-bottle"
approach are the very ones who scream blue murder about nuclear waste ...)