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Oceans Could Slurp Up Carbon Dioxide To Fight Global Warming

Date:
November 20, 2007
Source:
American Chemical Society
Summary:
Researchers are proposing a new method for reducing global warming that involves building a series of water treatment plants that enhance the ability of the ocean to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. About 100 such plants -- which essentially use the ocean as "a giant carbon dioxide collector" -- could cause a 15 percent reduction in emissions over many years, they say. About 700 plants could offset all carbon dioxide emissions.
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Researchers in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania are proposing a new method for reducing global warming that involves building a series of water treatment plants that enhance the ability of the ocean to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

About 100 such plants -- which essentially use the ocean as "a giant carbon dioxide collector" -- could cause a 15 percent reduction in emissions over many years, they say. About 700 plants could offset all CO2 emissions. 

Scientists believe that excessive build-up of carbon dioxide in the air contributes to global warming. In addition to cutting down on carbon dioxide emissions by reducing the use of fossil fuels, researchers have focused on new technologies that remove the gas directly from the atmosphere.

In the new study, Kurt Zenz House and colleagues propose building hundreds of special water treatment facilities worldwide that would remove hydrochloric acid from the ocean by electrolysis and neutralize the acid through reactions with silicate minerals or rocks.

The reaction increases the alkalinity of the ocean and its ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The process is similar to the natural weathering reactions that occur among silicate rocks but works at a much faster rate, the researchers say.

The journal article, "Electrochemical Acceleration of Chemical Weathering as an Energetically Feasible Approach to Mitigating Anthropogenic Climate Change," is scheduled to appear in the Dec. 15 issue of ACS' Environmental Science & Technology.


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Cite This Page:

American Chemical Society. "Oceans Could Slurp Up Carbon Dioxide To Fight Global Warming." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 20 November 2007. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071119112231.htm>.
American Chemical Society. (2007, November 20). Oceans Could Slurp Up Carbon Dioxide To Fight Global Warming. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 12, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071119112231.htm
American Chemical Society. "Oceans Could Slurp Up Carbon Dioxide To Fight Global Warming." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071119112231.htm (accessed December 12, 2024).

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