An Assessment of Direct Dissolved Inorganic Carbon Injection to the Coastal Region: A Model Result

Wei-Jen Huang, Kai-Jung Kao, Li-Lian Liu, Chi-Wen Liao and Yin-Lung Han
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Wei-Jen Huang: Department of Oceanography, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan
Kai-Jung Kao: Department of Oceanography, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan
Li-Lian Liu: Department of Oceanography, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan
Chi-Wen Liao: Green Energy and Environment Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu 31040, Taiwan
Yin-Lung Han: Green Energy and Environment Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu 31040, Taiwan

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 4, 1-10

Abstract: The amount of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in the atmosphere has increased in the past 60 years and the technology of carbon capture and storage (CCS) has recently been extensively studied. One of the strategies of CCS is to directly inject a high dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration (or high partial pressure of carbon dioxide, p CO 2 ) solution into the ocean. However, the carbonate dynamics and air-sea gas exchange are usually neglected in a CCS strategy. This study assesses the effect of a DIC-solution injection by using a simple two end-member model to simulate the variation of pH, DIC, total alkalinity (TA) and p CO 2 between the river and sea mixing process for the Danshuei River estuary and Hoping River in Taiwan. We observed that the DIC-solution injection can contribute to ocean acidification and can also lead the p CO 2 value to change from being undersaturated to oversaturated (with respect to the atmospheric CO 2 level). Our model result also showed that the maximum Revelle factors (Δ[CO 2 ]/[CO 2 ])/(Δ[DIC]/[DIC]) among varied pH values (6–9) and DIC concentrations (0.5–3.5 mmol kg −1 ) were between pH 8.3 and 8.5 in fresh water and were between 7.3 and 7.5 in waters with a salinity of 35, reflecting the changing efficiency of dissolving CO 2 gas into the DIC solution and the varying stability of this desired DIC solution. Finally, we suggest this uncoupled Revelle factor between fresh and salty water should be considered in the (anthropogenic) carbonate chemical weathering on a decade to century scale.

Keywords: carbon cycle; ocean acidification; air-sea gas exchange; CO 2; CCS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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