Much that was science fiction at the turn of the 19th century is today mundane reality. So it is hardly surprising that seemingly implausible ways of tackling our greenhouse gas problem are being used more and more by scientists and geo-engineers.
One such radical method that is being looked at with keen interest is Carbon Sequestration. But before we launch into the details, the irony underlying this technique deserves mention. Much of our greenhouse gases, primarily CO2 comes from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. These carbon rich natural resources are found deep within the stratified layers of rock, often several kilometers deep inside the earth's crust. Technology has enabled man to dig these resources out, use them as sources of energy, and release the principal by-product, i.e. CO2 into the air, vitiating and warming the atmosphere over several decades. Ironically, carbon sequestration works quite literally to put this unwelcome by-product back into the chasms of the earth from where they originated. Confused? Well, put simply, carbon sequestration is the process of pushing large volumes of CO2 into porous rock strata in the crust, where they are trapped by impervious upper rock layers and by virtue of chemical reaction with the compounds of the rocks themselves.
Possible ways of carbon sequestration
I came across an article by Rachel Meserole in the Yale Scientific Magazine, where I learnt that this process has been in use for quite some time now. At the Sleipner natural gas field located in the North Sea, one million metric tonnes of CO2 has been pumped annually into a porous sandstone layer beneath the ocean. The CO2 displaces the water trapped between the rock particles and gets trapped, thanks to an impermeable layer above. So, evidently, the process is not only sound in principle, it actually works on the ground. Many such subterranean CO2 traps can be found in the form of depleted coal belts, exhausted oil belts etc. The article details many other aspects of carbon sequestration and is a fascinating read. The same article also describes how magnesium rich basalt layers can trap CO2 due the chemical reaction between the magnesium and CO2 to form carbonates like Magnesite. Both methods have their drawbacks and hazards, but proper focussed research could one day make them feasible methods to reduce CO2 in our atmosphere.
Onebluesphere urges that you give it a quick read here: http://www.yalescientific.org/2008/11/an-inconvenient-truth-a-surprisingly-convenient-solution/
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