Co-Location of Air Capture, Subseafloor CO^sub 2^ Sequestration, and Energy Production on the Kerguelen Plateau

Reducing atmospheric CO2 using a combination of air capture and offshore geological storage can address technical and policy concerns with climate mitigation. Because CO2 mixes rapidly in the atmosphere, air capture could operate anywhere and in principle reduce CO2 to preindustrial levels. We inves...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inEnvironmental science & technology Vol. 47; no. 13; p. 7521
Main Authors Goldberg, David S, Lackner, Klaus S, Han, Patrick, Slagle, Angela L, Wang, Tao
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Easton American Chemical Society 02.07.2013
Subjects
Alternative energy
Carbon dioxide removal
Carbon sequestration
Emissions control
Humidity
Wind
Indian Ocean
Kerguelen Island
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Reducing atmospheric CO2 using a combination of air capture and offshore geological storage can address technical and policy concerns with climate mitigation. Because CO2 mixes rapidly in the atmosphere, air capture could operate anywhere and in principle reduce CO2 to preindustrial levels. We investigate the Kerguelen plateau in the Indian Ocean, which offers steady wind resources, vast subseafloor storage capacities, and minimal risk of economic damages or human inconvenience and harm. The efficiency of humidity swing driven air capture under humid and windy conditions is tested in the laboratory. Powered by wind, we estimate ...75 Mt CO2/yr could be collected using air capture and sequestered below seafloor or partially used for synfuel. Our analysis suggests that Kerguelen offers a remote and environmentally secure location for CO2 sequestration using renewable energy. Regional reservoirs could hold over 1500 Gt CO2, sequestering a large fraction of 21st century emissions. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
ISSN:0013-936X