08 November 2008
MUSCAT -- Claims by US-based researchers that an Omani rock could potentially hold the key to solving the problem of carbon emissions the greenhouse gas at the heart of worldwide concerns over global warming augur well for the Sultanate's plans to pursue alternative fuels for power generation. The researchers, based at the prestigious Columbia University, announced last week that the rock, identified as 'peridotite', has the potential to absorb massive volumes of carbon dioxide and convert it into carbonates.
If proven to be financially and technically viable, the findings could bolster Oman's long-term efforts to switch to alternative fuels, including coal and heavy oil, for power generation and water desalination. Carbon emissions produced by such plants could be captured and safely sequestered in peridotite rock at far lower costs than many of the carbon sequestration technologies available in the market today. Peter B Kelemen and geochemist Jürg Matter, the scientists who released their findings late last week, say peridotite is found in abundance in the Samayil Ophiolite a large piece of ocean crust that was thrust up onto land in the late Cretaceous period around 95 million years ago.
Billed as the largest geological structure of its kind in the world, the ophiolite extends some 500 km long and 14 km thick. Their findings were published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), one of the world's most-cited multidisciplinary scientific serials. In their article, titled 'In situ carbonation of peridotite for CO2 storage', geologist Kelemen and geochemist Matter say peridotite has the ability to serve as a 'carbon sink' that is potentially far more effective than the Amazon rainforest.
Since its publication late last week, the international scientific community has been abuzz with excitement over the promise that a potential solution to the vexing problem of global warming is at hand. According to the researchers, peridotite reacts with atmospheric carbon dioxide to form solid carbonates, such as marble and limestone. However, during their studies on the Oman ophiolite, they discovered that the carbonates formed on the surface of peridotite were of fairly recent vintage -- of around 26,000 years ago contrary to the long-held view that they were formed when the ophiolite was created some 95 million years earlier.
Recent road-related excavations around the ophiolite also revealed sections of once-buried peridotite with evidence of carbonates created as a result of exposure to carbon dioxide-rich groundwater. Up to 10 times more gas was absorbed by peridotite below ground, compared to the exposed part of the rock. Based on these findings, the scientists have concluded that the Oman ophiolite naturally soaks up between 10,000 and 100,000 tonnes of the greenhouse gas every year. This absorption process, they argue in their article, can be accelerated by drilling holes into the peridotite rock, which extends some 5 km into the ground, and pumping heated water containing pressurised carbon dioxide.
The ensuing carbonation process will generate heat that will further accelerate the absorption of the gas. With suitable technologies, the Oman ophiolite could potentially soak up an estimated 4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, representing about a tenth of the total volume of carbon pumped into the atmosphere, primarily through the burning of fossil fuels. Similar occurrences of peridotite rock elsewhere around the world, notably in Papua New Guinea, coastal Greece, and the former Yugoslavia, could complement this initiative, according to the scientists.
MUSCAT -- Claims by US-based researchers that an Omani rock could potentially hold the key to solving the problem of carbon emissions the greenhouse gas at the heart of worldwide concerns over global warming augur well for the Sultanate's plans to pursue alternative fuels for power generation. The researchers, based at the prestigious Columbia University, announced last week that the rock, identified as 'peridotite', has the potential to absorb massive volumes of carbon dioxide and convert it into carbonates.
If proven to be financially and technically viable, the findings could bolster Oman's long-term efforts to switch to alternative fuels, including coal and heavy oil, for power generation and water desalination. Carbon emissions produced by such plants could be captured and safely sequestered in peridotite rock at far lower costs than many of the carbon sequestration technologies available in the market today. Peter B Kelemen and geochemist Jürg Matter, the scientists who released their findings late last week, say peridotite is found in abundance in the Samayil Ophiolite a large piece of ocean crust that was thrust up onto land in the late Cretaceous period around 95 million years ago.
Billed as the largest geological structure of its kind in the world, the ophiolite extends some 500 km long and 14 km thick. Their findings were published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), one of the world's most-cited multidisciplinary scientific serials. In their article, titled 'In situ carbonation of peridotite for CO2 storage', geologist Kelemen and geochemist Matter say peridotite has the ability to serve as a 'carbon sink' that is potentially far more effective than the Amazon rainforest.
Since its publication late last week, the international scientific community has been abuzz with excitement over the promise that a potential solution to the vexing problem of global warming is at hand. According to the researchers, peridotite reacts with atmospheric carbon dioxide to form solid carbonates, such as marble and limestone. However, during their studies on the Oman ophiolite, they discovered that the carbonates formed on the surface of peridotite were of fairly recent vintage -- of around 26,000 years ago contrary to the long-held view that they were formed when the ophiolite was created some 95 million years earlier.
Recent road-related excavations around the ophiolite also revealed sections of once-buried peridotite with evidence of carbonates created as a result of exposure to carbon dioxide-rich groundwater. Up to 10 times more gas was absorbed by peridotite below ground, compared to the exposed part of the rock. Based on these findings, the scientists have concluded that the Oman ophiolite naturally soaks up between 10,000 and 100,000 tonnes of the greenhouse gas every year. This absorption process, they argue in their article, can be accelerated by drilling holes into the peridotite rock, which extends some 5 km into the ground, and pumping heated water containing pressurised carbon dioxide.
The ensuing carbonation process will generate heat that will further accelerate the absorption of the gas. With suitable technologies, the Oman ophiolite could potentially soak up an estimated 4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, representing about a tenth of the total volume of carbon pumped into the atmosphere, primarily through the burning of fossil fuels. Similar occurrences of peridotite rock elsewhere around the world, notably in Papua New Guinea, coastal Greece, and the former Yugoslavia, could complement this initiative, according to the scientists.
By A Staff Reporter
© Oman Daily Observer 2008
