Portuguese researchers have calculated that an extinct volcano west of the Portuguese coast may serve to capture and store the equivalent of 125 years of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industry.
Using other extinct volcanoes around the world, the process could lead to the capture of hundreds of gigatonnes of CO2, indicates the research, published in the scientific journal “Geology”.
Researchers Ricardo Pereira, from the Universidade Nova’s Faculty of Science and Technology, and David Gamboa, from the University of Aveiro, say the process is safer than storing CO2 in porous rocks underground, the carbon sequestration method. more common. used coal.
Ricardo Pereira told Lusa that volcanoes have the capacity to store CO2 more efficiently because they are formed by basaltic rocks, with properties more in line with this process.
“The study shows that we can have a tool to count how much each volcano can capture. And this may be one of the safest and most effective ways to capture CO2,” he said.
The volcano that was used for the study is a submerged and partially buried volcano, one hundred kilometers west of the Lisbon area, called Fontanelas. After investigating the volcano, the researchers tried to calculate how much CO2 could be stored. The CO2 sequestration process is identical to the one already used in Iceland.
Ricardo Pereira recalled that carbon capture is normal today, but the challenge is to store it. “Since we have CO2 in a fluid, like normal water or seawater, we are left with a CO2-rich fluid and that mixture is injected through a well deep in the rocks,” he explained.
CO2 reacts chemically with minerals and in the case of basaltic rocks the reaction is rapid, measured in months or years, and in this reaction new minerals are formed, explains the person in charge, stating that, simply, it is an identical process by which limestone is formed in the pipes of houses.
The process, which requires investment, technology and impact studies, can be carried out in any place where there are magmatic rocks. And if applied on a large scale, it could be a way to reduce CO2, which is responsible for global warming and climate change.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of gigatonnes of CO2 can be safely and permanently stored, the researchers say, according to which the mineral carbonation process in the volcano is considered safer than storage in porous subsurface rocks, currently the safest method. common.
Questioned by Lusa, Ricardo Pereira admitted that the process will have some environmental impact but considered it minor and said that it can be done safely, in addition to the fact that the greenhouse gas emissions involved in the storage process will be infinitely less than the amount of CO2 that can be stored.
Source: TSF
