Carbon capture and storage in seawater
One of the biggest challenges in connection with carbon capture is the storage of CO2. A solution now seems to be on the way. The company Ecospec believes it is able to imprison CO2 in sea water, without any danger of the carbon leaking out later.
The technology is alluring in itself: ships are equipped with machinery that can treat sea water. The equipment increases the pH value in the water and leads the exhaust through it. The CO2 is thus bound up as calcium carbonate in the water, which can be released into the sea, reducing the ship’s emissions by about 50 percent, or perhaps more.
There are still substantial issues with this technology. Above all, we must be sure that the carbonate is in fact stable under various conditions, such as in the case of reduced pH and increased temperatures – both of which are anticipated effects of global warming.
The solution will be unusable if it turns out that the carbonate disintegrates again, releasing CO2. Ecospec claims that it is stable and the technology is now to be tested. If this is the case, then this can be a fundamental tool in making the maritime industry more environmentally friendly. The technology is very exciting and a good example of current research on solutions that were not even discussed just a few years ago.
