Harnessing Carbon Dioxide from the Ocean and Turning Them To Rocks, Researchers Newest Climate Change Game Plan

As climate change is a universal threat that is hurriedly gaining on us, researchers devised a new game plan of harnessing carbon dioxide from the ocean and running it through a carbon capture facility that would chemically convert CO2 into limestone.

Ocean's Role in Climate Change

(Photo: iStock by Pexel)

Incessant carbon dioxide emissions from human activity have been a well-known driving force behind climate change. According to NOAA, for every ton of CO2 pumped into the air, almost a quarter gets absorbed by the ocean. Excess carbon dioxide has been acidifying the water and threatening marine ecologies throughout the globe.

The only way to avoid irreversible damage is to significantly reduce carbon emissions. However, scientists also believe that deliberately pulling CO2 from the environment is a necessary medium to helping curb, or potentially reverse, the rise in carbon emissions.

On the other hand, carbon capture is a massive task that has often been challenging and expensive.

Most efforts to sequester carbon have primarily focused on direct capture from the atmosphere, an effort to pull CO2 gas from the air, so to speak. Recent research suggests that by using the ocean, carbon capture efforts could be more efficient.

Researchers explain that large bodies of water hold more than 150 times of CO2 than the atmosphere. This is why a new game plan has been proposed by researchers for removing carbon directly from the ocean. The ocean will act like a sponge absorbing more CO2 from the atmosphere.

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Turning Seawater CO2 into Limestone Rocks

In a study published in the ACS Publications, entitled "Saline Water-Based Mineralization Pathway for Gigatonne-Scale CO2 Management", researchers suggest an innovative way of sequestering carbon out of the ocean by chemically changing them into rocks.

Seawater contains various minerals such as magnesium and calcium. When tons of these metals combine with CO2, it forms calcite or magnesite -- a process similar to how marine organisms create shells. However, by involving electricity, a faster conversion process is possible, according to Gaurav Sant, UCLA professor and the study's lead author. Because it is more efficient, the process may be possible on a larger scale.

The technology works by passing seawater through an electrically charged mesh; electrolysis will trigger a chemical reaction similar to the formation of carbonate rocks.

Researchers have been able to build a 1.5-meter-by-1.5-meter prototype that can be flooded with simulated seawater. The team is collecting data on how much CO2 can be removed over a period of time, analyzing the efficiency of the process and the energy required to produce desirable products.

Aside from demonstrating the concept, the team is using the model to identify operational variables that could impact the entirety of the process. the Smithsonian Magazine reports.

The process is similar to a water treatment plant. However, the process utilizes electricity to force calcium, carbon, and magnesium to react and transform into solids. The processed water would then be returned to the ocean.