Every year, the month of September is the year where the carbon dioxide levels are at their lowest in the northern hemisphere. However, this year the carbon diozide levels have remained above the “red line” of 400 parts per million, cauusing scientists to predict that CO2 levels will not return to environment levels “ever again for the indefinite future” (dogo news). The extreme amount of carbon dioxide in the air has mainly been cause by humans, and is a constant issue. Scientists all over the world have been trying to find solutions to this problem, and a good solution has never been found…until now.
A team of researchers led by Columbia University professors Juerg Matter and Martin Stute have found a solution: turning carbon dioxide into stone! The scientists teamed up with Iceland’s largest power plant, Hellisheidi, to figure out a solution to the problem. Hellisheidi is the world’s largest geothermal facility, meaning that it uses volcanically-heated water to run electricity-generating turbines, producing few emissions. Their project, called the CarbFix project, included mizing the Co2 in the air with water and pumping it 1,500 feet underground into the basalt near the volcano. The acidic solution interacts with the iron, calcium and magnesium ions in the volcanic rock to form environmentally benign carbonate materials. Over the course of two years, nearly 95% of this CO2-water was converted to limestone. It can take up to 1,000 years for carbon dioxide to naturally turn into limestone. Encouraged by the results of the CarbFix project, the Icelandic scientists paln to bury 10,000 tons of CO2- nearly a fourth of Iceland’s annual carbon emissions. The results of this experiment, published recently, have made a big impact on the rest of the world. We now have a solution to an extreme problem. I think this is very important for our environment. Because the CarbFix project was such a success, we might be able to improve the environment around us. Source: http://www.dogonews.com/2016/9/29/iceland-combats-climate-change-by-turning-carbon-dioxide-to-stone
3 Comments
Ansa Schmulbach
10/3/2016 08:44:25 am
That's really cool! Great article.
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Michelle
10/3/2016 08:50:22 am
Nice Article! I was actually going to write about this but then I didn't
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Akash Ganesan
10/6/2016 11:05:06 am
That is really cool
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