Lime May Cut CO2 Levels in Sea Water
Scientists claim to have found a workable way of reducing CO² (Carbon dioxide) levels in the atmosphere to pre-industrial levels — by adding lime to seawater.
The oceans are already the world’s largest carbon sink, absorbing 2 billion tonnes of carbon every year. Increasing absorption ability by just a few per cent could dramatically increase CO² uptake from the atmosphere. Adding lime to seawater increases alkalinity, boosting seawater’s ability to absorb CO² from air.
However, the idea, which has been bandied about for years, was thought unworkable because of the expense of obtaining lime from limestone and the amount of CO² released in the process. Now, Tim Kruger, a management consultant at London firm Corven, made this process possible. He said that it could be made workable by locating it in regions that have a combination of low-cost “stranded” energy considered too remote to be economically viable to exploit — like flared natural gas or solar energy in deserts — and that are rich in limestone, making it feasible for calcination to take place on site.
According to Kruger, “There are many such places — for example, Australia’s Nullarbor Plain would be a prime location for this process, as it has 10 000km3 of limestone and soaks up roughly 20MJ/m2 of solar irradiation every day.” The process of making lime generates CO², but twice as much CO² is absorbed by adding the lime to seawater. “This process has the potential to reverse the accumulation of CO² in the atmosphere. It would be possible to reduce CO² to pre-industrial levels,” he said.
Sources: The Times Of India
Related articles by Zemanta
