Environmental impacts of ocean disposal of CO{sub 2}
- and others
One option to reduce atmospheric CO{sub 2} levels is to capture and sequester power plant CO{sub 2} Commercial CO{sub 2} capture technology, though expensive, exists today. However, the ability to dispose of large quantities of CO{sub 2} is highly uncertain. The deep ocean is one of only a few possible CO{sub 2} disposal options (others are depleted oil and gas wells or deep, confined aquifers) and is a prime candidate because the deep ocean is vast and highly unsaturated in CO{sub 2}. The term disposal is really a misnomer because the atmosphere and ocean eventually equilibrate on a timescale of 1000 years regardless of where the CO{sub 2} is originally discharged. However, peak atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentrations expected to occur in the next few centuries could be significantly reduced by ocean disposal. The magnitude of this reduction will depend upon the quantity of CO{sub 2} injected in the ocean, as well as the depth and location of injection. Ocean disposal of CO{sub 2} will only make sense if the environmental impacts to the ocean are significantly less than the avoided impacts of atmospheric release. Our project has been examining these ocean impacts through a multi-disciplinary effort designed to summarize the current state of knowledge. The end-product will be a report issued during the summer of 1996 consisting of two volumes an executive summary (Vol I) and a series of six, individually authored topical reports (Vol II). A workshop with invited participants from the U.S. and abroad will review the draft findings in January, 1996.
- Research Organization:
- USDOE Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center (PETC), PA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 121400
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9507159-; ON: DE95017240; TRN: 95:024015
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 11. annual coal preparation, utilization, and environmental control contractors conference, Pittsburgh, PA (United States), 12-14 Jul 1995; Other Information: PBD: [1995]; Related Information: Is Part Of Eleventh annual coal preparation, utilization, and environmental control contractors conference: Proceedings; PB: 440 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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