World-first pilot plant to turn carbon dioxide into rock
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-23/world-first-pilot-plant-will-turn-carbon-dioxide-into-rock/4908324"We could be making millions of tonnes of bricks and pavers which really could be green products for the future," he said.
He says the project is about permanently transforming carbon dioxide, not just storing it in the ground.
Orica chief executive Ian Smith says the technology will enable every power station in the world to capture carbon dioxide emissions and turn them into rock.
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At least it isn't Rap, or whatever they call it now. I'd even go for turning CO2 into jazz. But Rock is so common.
Maybe when they get the technology together we can get something other than loud guitars and drums.
Still, it's a first step. When they get to Gershwin or Benny Goodman, let me know.
Here's some Goodman, at his best at Carnegie Hall in 1938. With the incredible Gene Krupa on drums. It brought the house down. Sing, Sing, Sing!
As Duke Ellington said, "If the music sounds good, it is good."
On edit: the correct Carnegie Hall Sing, Sing, Sing. Enjoy, people!
Or, I will take my punishment!
Do listen to the Goodman, though.
From their Q & A PDF:
> 4. How does the process work?
> Basic rock such as serpentinite is mined, crushed, heated and then mixed with water
> and pressurised with CO2 to speed up the natural carbonation reaction which in turn
> forms stable magnesium carbonate powder and sand.
All of those processes (mining, crushing, heating, mixing with water, CO2 pressurisation)
require additional energy input (some require a lot of it).
> 6. Will mineral carbonation mean more mining?
> In general, yes, more mining will be required to supply the minerals for carbonation.
> By doing this, the mining industry could in fact become a large part of the solution to
> our most pressing global environmental problem.
The salient phrase is "yes, more mining will be required".
> 7. How much mining is required for mineral carbonation?
> The mining scale will be smaller than the scale of mining for coal. In fact, to secure
> all the CO2 produced from coal, only half as much mineral silicate rock will be needed
> as the original amount of rock mined to extract the coal that produced the CO2.
So ... only half a mountain top at a time then?
All of the above are merely question marks and I truly hope that the result of this
pilot study is genuinely beneficial to the environment rather than just to the company.
"Orica is the largest provider of commercial explosives and blasting systems to the mining
and infrastructure markets, the global leader in the provision of ground support in mining
and tunnelling, and the leading supplier of sodium cyanide for gold extraction. "
Pardon my cynicism here but I feel that this plays into the increasingly frantic search
for a silver bullet that will allow Business As Usual ...
