Effects Of Co2 Sequestration

With the rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas in the atmosphere and the continual release of CO2 emissions from human industrialisation, there is an increasing need to limit this atmospheric pollution in attempt to reduce human impact on the environment. Human activities have been adding to the problem of global warming and climate change for decades, however this must change if we are to avoid the negative consequences, such as ocean acidification and rising sea levels. There is evidence that associates a reduction in atmospheric CO2 pollution, with human efforts in CO2 sequestration (H. Oelkers and D. R. Cole, 2008). More specifically, the use of mineral carbonation strategies, such as ex situ and in situ, as a way to store and capture

Oelkers and D. R. Cole, 2008).

Mineral carbonation is the reaction of carbon dioxide with basic minerals to form solid carbonates that are stable and relatively insoluble (E. H. Oelkers, S.R. Gislason and J.M. Matter, 2008). The CO2 is usually reacted with the elements calcium, magnesium, and iron to form compounds such as calcite and magnesite, which means less CO2 in the atmosphere, hence reducing its impact on global warming and climate change (E. H. Oelkers, S.R. Gislason and J.M. Matter, 2008). Mineral carbonation is a natural process that, unfortunately, has a long and slow timeframe, hence it requires industrial intervention to speed up the process, giving it the opportunity to have a major impact in reducing CO2 in the atmosphere (E. H. Oelkers, S.R. Gislason and J.M. Matter, 2008). An advantage of mineral carbonation is the stable carbonates, meaning the risk of CO2 leakage back into the atmosphere is lowered, hence having a larger impact in keeping CO2 atmospheric levels reduced (H. Oelkers and D. R. Cole, 2008). Furthermore, there is an

The long-term ability to permanently store CO2 in a safe environment also affects the success of the mineral carbonation process (J. M. Matter et al. 2016). Both processes of ex situ and in situ mineral carbonation have limitations that must be addressed in order for the storage of CO2 in geological formations to have a major impact in reducing CO2 atmospheric conditions. Ex situ processes are industrial carbonation reactions, all of which rely on a feedstock, entailing minerals such as serpentinite (I. M. Power, S. A. Wilson and G. Dipple, 2013). This mineral carbonation strategy is advantageous in its ability to reduce CO2 from the atmosphere as it successfully allows the reaction and storage of CO2 in geological formations. However, it currently has high energy costs due to the need of the accelerated reaction, and for it to truly have an impact in mitigating atmospheric pollution, it would have to become an extremely large-scale production (I. M. Power, S. A. Wilson and G. Dipple, 2013). The large-scale production of carbonates would lead to more mining of the required carbonate reaction materials as well as more products and wastes to remove, however, as a positive, the immense amounts of resulting products can be used in building materials (H. Oelkers and D. R. Cole, 2008). More