When carbon sequestration first emerged on the scene, it was viewed as a solution to all problems connected with excessive carbon gas emissions. But the reality soon became clear to people who strongly supported this process. Carbon sequestration has a number of disadvantages in addition to the advantages it provides.
Disadvantages of Carbon Sequestration
The many disadvantages of this process have far-reaching consequences.
The carbon dioxide gas is compressed into a liquid form and is stored deep under the earth’s surface, in areas which are capable of holding the gas securely and preventing it from leaking out. Even though care is taken to identify the right areas for storing the gas underground, there is always a likelihood of the gas leaking out.
When that happens, a number of deadly changes can transpire:
a) The leaked carbon dioxide gas which is in the liquid form can mix with ground water. This will make the ground water extremely toxic and unsuitable for human consumption.
b) Gas stored below the ocean floor can leak out and increase the carbon dioxide content in the lower layers of the ocean. This makes it difficult for the flora and fauna thriving near the ocean surface to adjust to the changes and as a result, the whole ecosystem is disturbed.
c) Leakage of the carbon dioxide gas from underground reservoirs can lead to the replacement of oxygen gas near the earth’s surface with carbon dioxide, leading to loss of plant and animal life in the area.
High cost of the carbon sequestration process
Apart from the above stated issues, the carbon sequestration process also has another major disadvantage.
To store carbon dioxide gas underground, it has to be compressed into liquid form. This process is extremely expensive and requires a lot of energy. The injected gas also has to be monitored constantly for leakage over long periods of time.
Another major issue is that excessive usage of this method slows down the search for non-polluting sources of energy.
Despite all these disadvantages there is still one major advantage for which we need to continue using this method.
Advantage of Carbon Sequestration
The single advantage of using this process is that it helps us store compressed carbon dioxide gas deep under the earth’s surface so as to prevent excessive increase in the earth’s atmospheric temperature. This process is highly beneficial because we will have to continue using fossil fuels for at least a few years before making the shift to other pollution-free forms of energy.
To learn more about this process, read Carbon Sequestration: The Way to a Cleaner Environment.
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