New Soils That Absorb Carbon From The Atmosphere
By Nick April 7, 2008
David Manning, Professor of Soil Science is leading a team of scientists from the Newcastle University that are aiming at creating a type of soil that will capture carbon from the air. The fact that plants use carbon in their photosynthesis and then pump the surplus of the substance through their roots, into the ground, was known for quite some time, but no one tried to use this to clean the air.
The development of this method is being funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and it intends on using soils rich in calcium-bearing silicates. The researchers believe that this silicates, reacting with carbon, result mineral calcium carbonate, which is harmless to the environment.
The substance obtained this way remains in the ground, meaning the carbon would be trapped forever. If further studies show that this is practical, the team wants to experiment on artificially-made soils by inserting calcium silicates in them and monitoring how much carbon they absorb. This method would be a very cheap way to reduce pollution, compared to other attempts.
Topics: Eco News |
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