Scientists were able to convert carbon dioxide into rocks – La Voz del Interior

Scientists have found a fast, although not economical, way to convert carbon dioxide into harmless rocks, which at one point could help alleviate global warming.

experts say the result of a two-year experiment called CarbFix, which cost 10 million dollars and was carried about 540 meters (a third of a mile) deep in rocks in Iceland, offers new hope an effective weapon could have found against climate change.

When an international team of scientists pumped a mixture of carbon dioxide and water in underground basalt rocks, basic chemistry took over.

the acid mixture dissolved calcium magnesium rocks and formed limestone, a natural prison for gas that traps heat, according to Juerg Matter, University of Southampton in England.

he is the lead author of a study detailing the experiment published Thursday in the medical journal Science.

“it is not a gas,” Matter said. “Basically, carbon dioxide became stone.”

The scientists, who have done this before in the laboratory, thought the process could take thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years . But after only two years, 95% of the gas was captured and converted, according to the study.

“It’s what we expected … and better in some ways,” said David Goldberg, geophysicist Columbia University who was not part of the team but praised his work. “What happens here is a natural process being accelerated.”

One of the methods against climate change and reduce emissions from fossil fuels, is to capture the CO2 in the air or emit the power plants.

“carbon sequestration is not a magic solution, but can contribute significantly to reducing emissions of carbon dioxide,” said Matter .

However, this process can be expensive, especially the part of the catch. Once the gas is trapped air storage is another issue. It can be stored in the basement and sometimes injected into depleted oil wells, but there are concerns about their monitoring and how to prevent escape.

Inject in basalt and let nature take its course can solve that problem. But at $ 17 per ton of carbon dioxide, it can cost a couple of times I injected into old oil wells, said Matter.