just put it underground?” You idiot, you’re a genius.

Hi everybody, Julian here for DNews. There are a lot of options for curbing CO2 production

on the table, with my personal favorite being not making any more of it. But as it stands

right now, we’re still very dependent on energy production methods that pump billions

of tons of it into the atmosphere annually.

Recently I made a DNews episode on a method natural gas plants can use to condense their

CO2, which makes it easier to pressurize it and store it underground. But I wanted to

follow up with a look at if that’s really a viable option.

Right now the idea is being put into action in Decatur, Illinois by Archer Daniels Midland.

They produce over 2,700 tons of CO2 daily as a byproduct of turning corn into ethanol.

For the last 3 years they’ve been pressurizing a third of that CO2 and pumping it into sandstone

2,100 meters below the surface.

The Carbon Dioxide is heated to 35 degrees celsius and pressurized to 9.8 megapascals.

At that temperature and pressure the molecules don’t act like a gas, but they don’t act

like a liquid either. They’re whats called a supercritical fluid, with properties of

both. It can be pumped through a pipe, but when it reaches the sandstone sediment deep

underground, it effuses through the pores like a gas. This property lets ADM pump 1,100

liters of Carbon Dioxide underground a minute. Of course eventually the sandstone deposit

underground will run out of pore space, but right now it’s estimated this particular

deposit can store centuries of emissions from the upper midwest. According to the US Geological

Survey, there are enough sandstone sites around the US to store American emissions for 500

years.

Great, let’s start drillin’ and fillin’ right? Not so fast, there are possible downsides.

Recently headlines were made when studies showed conclusively that earthquakes in Ohio

were becoming more frequent because of hydraulic fracturing. Fracking isn’t quite the same

as this method of carbon capture and storage, Fracking involves pumping water, sand, and

other chemicals underground to break rocks and release natural gas. Scientists believe

the water may be causing slippages in hidden faults, or providing just enough pressure

to induce seismic activity.

With this in mind the USGS is monitoring seismic activity by the Decatur site and so far it

looks like the storage isn’t having negative effects topside, so ADM is planning on scaling

up and pumping all their CO2 underground. Even if it works flawlessly here detractors

aren’t certain other sites won’t be near hidden faults, and we’re going to need a

lot more places to put the carbon dioxide if this is going to put a dent in how much

we make. Thousands more wells like the one in Decatur in fact. So far ADM has pumped

about a million tons underground but the US emits over 5 billion tons of it annually.

Plus if the CO2 will find or open cracks in the bedrock above it and seep back out again,

the whole exercise is moot.

It’s not an immediate fix to the problem, and if it ends up causing more damage than

it prevents the plug may be pulled on this form of carbon storage entirely. So for now

it looks like the best solution is to reduce emissions where possible, work towards carbon-neutral

energy production, and steadily introduce carbon capture and storage to cut down on

how much we emit now.

CO2 isn’t just messing with the environment globally, it can also screw up your brain

if you’re stuck in a crowded room. Matt’s video explains over here.

Have you been affected by earthquakes either natural or man-made? If you’ve got a story

or want us to look into it, share with us in the comments and I’ll see you next time

on DNews