Seminar - Ian Jones - Storage of Anthropogenic Carbon in the Ocean

Wednesday 30 August 2006, 1.10 - 1.50 pm
Civil Engineering Lecture Theatre 3

Abstract
While fossil carbon released into the ocean by the use of fossil fuels will mostly reside in the ocean, the rate of transfer is too slow to halt an alarming rise in CO2 in the atmosphere over the next 100 years.

There is a special opportunity of accelerating this process for the flue gases from coastal power stations. Here the high concentration of carbon dioxide can be dissolved in the flow of sea water used for cooling. If no further action were taken, the dissolved carbon dioxide would be equilibrate with the atmosphere with time, producing the same result as a release into the atmosphere.

Adding calcium carbonate to the cooling water will neutralize the carbonic acid and convert carbon dioxide to bicarbonate, a substance that is stable in the ocean. The increased bicarbonate in the cooling water discharge is advantageous for the growth of shellfish. The economics assuming the current price of carbon credits looks promising.