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21 March 2006 - A British research group has identified a natural physical process that could play a key role in secure sub-seabed storage of carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuelled power stations.
Funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, a team at the Centre for Gas Hydrate Research, at Heriot-Watt University is investigating how, in some conditions, seawater and carbon dioxide could combine into ice-like compounds in which the water molecules form cavities that act as cages, trapping the carbon dioxide molecules.
The project researchers believe that in the unlikely event of carbon dioxide starting to leak into the sea from an under-seabed disposal site, this process could add a second line of defence preventing its escape.
This is because, as the carbon dioxide comes into contact with the seawater in the pores of seafloor sediments above it, the compounds (called carbon dioxide hydrates) would form. This would create a secondary seal, blocking sediment pores and cracks.
Project leader, Professor Bahman Tohidi, plans to identify the type of seabed locations where sediment, temperature and pressure are conducive to the formation of carbon dioxide hydrates.
Tohidi said: "This data can then be used to help identify the securest locations for carbon dioxide storage and can aid in the development of methods for monitoring potential CO2 leakage. In the future, it may even be possible to manipulate the system to promote CO2 hydrate formation, extending the number of maximum-security sites that are available."
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