Geologists map rocks to soak CO...(ntists are experimenting with ways to sp...)

Date:3/5/2009

ntists are experimenting with ways to speed the reaction up by dissolving carbon dioxide in water and injecting it into the rock, as well as capturing heat generated by the reaction to accelerate the process. "It offers a way to permanently get rid of CO₂ emissions," said Juerg Matter, a scientist at Columbia's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, where a range of projects is underway.

Matter and his colleague Peter Kelemen are currently researching peridotite formations in Oman, which they say could be used to mineralize as much as 4 billion tons of CO₂ a year, or about 12 percent of the world's annual output. And in Iceland, Matter is about to participate in the first major pilot study on CO₂ sequestration in a basalt formation. In May, he and three other Lamont-Doherty scientists will join Reykjavik Energy and others to inject CO₂-saturated water into basalt formations there. Over nine months, the rock is expected to absorb 1,600 tons of CO₂ generated by a nearby geothermal power plant. Matter and another Lamont-Doherty scientist, David Goldberg, are also involved in a study by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which will eventually inject 1,000 tons of C02 into formations beneath land owned by a paper mill near Wallula, Wash.

One model is to capture CO₂ directly from power-plant smokestacks or other industrial facilities, combine it with water and pipe it into the ground, as in the upcoming Iceland project. Lackner and his colleagues are also working on a process using "artificial trees" that would remove CO₂ already emitted into the atmosphere.

Combining rocks and carbon dioxide could provide an added benefit, as Krevor points out. For decades, some large U.S. peridotite formations were mined for asbestos, used for insulation and other purposes. After a link between asbestos and cancer was proven, the substance was banned for most uses, and the
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Contact: Kim Martineau kmartine@ldeo.columbia.edu 845-365-8708 The Earth Institute at Columbia University Source:Eurekalert

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