New research by scientists at Washington University in St. Louis sheds light on what happens underground when CO2 is injected into basalt, illustrating precisely how effective the volcanic rock could be as an abatement agent for CO2 emissions. The research, led by Daniel Giammar, the Walter E. Browne Professor of Environmental Engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science, was conducted in collaboration with researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Philip Skemer, associate professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University.
Daniel Giammar, Walter E. Browne Professor of Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering & Applied Science
“People have done surveys of available basalt flows,” Giammar said. “This data will help us determine which ones could actually be receptive to having CO2 injected into them, and then also help us to determine capacity. It’s big. It’s years and years worth of U.S. CO2 emissions.”