Scientists have come up with a but simple way to deal with carbon dioxide emissions, by turning back into stone. Researchers in Iceland pumped 220 of CO2 deep underground into rock. It reacted with minerals in the rock and over a short space of time, transformed into a chalk-like solid similar to limestone. The team expressed their surprise at both the success and the of the CO2 conversion. Lead scientist Juerg Matter said: "Of our 220 tons of injected CO2, 95 per cent was converted to limestone in than two years." He added: "It was a surprise to all the scientists involved in the project, and we thought, 'Wow! This is fast'."
The scientists hope their will be adapted on a larger, more industrial . It could help to alleviate the of growing CO2 emissions entering the atmosphere and warming the . It could also become a technique in carbon capture and storage (CCS) . Many other CCS techniques have involved injecting and trapping CO2 underground. However, there was always the problem of the emissions leaking their back above ground and into the . Dr Matter was enthusiastic about his team's experiments. He said: "We need to deal with carbon emissions and this is the ultimate storage – turn them back to stone."
