piezoelectricity? … what is that? … too many syllables!

no, wait! read on!! … physics is really cool! …

understanding the physics of our world and of our surrounding galaxy and Universe is an intensely fascinating venture! … the principles of physics, chemistry, math, and biology that govern and effect our existence are literally incredible …

it’s exciting to see how persistent humans are in exploring realms of the unknown … we really are innately curious creatures, and that makes life a lot of fun! … for millenia humans have probed and prodded physical and metaphysical realms to search for the answers to their incessant, insatiable questions … this is a good thing because we’ve learned so much … the power of our knowledge, however, must be respected deeply because knowledge can be used destructively or constructively …

in the mid- to late-19th century, several scientists discovered some materials generate an electrical potential when they are mechanically stressed (e.g., squeezed, compressed, etc.) … dubbed piezomorphic (a word derived from Greek: piezo = squeeze or press + morh = form) substances, people soon realized that there was a great potential (no pun intended!) for using these materials to generate different forms of energy … more…

in my previous post, i listed 3 general CO2 gas storage geotechnology strategies … i’ll discuss the pros & cons of each individually in the upcoming posts …

protesters dressed in CO2 molecule costumes to demonstrate in essen (1 june 2007) as part of the anti-CO2 pollution initiative, 'byebye CO2' ... photo from reuters

1.  CO2 stored in gaseous form and pumped or injected deep below the ground, into various geological formations such as saline aquifers, exhausted gas fields, coal beds, etc.

PROS:

* currently, this option is considered the safest … the injected CO2 gas is expected to react with the local bedrock and naturally form inert mineral carbonates via a process known as mineral carbonation … this is a natural geological process which, under normal conditions, occurs over a span of thousands of years … hence, the injected CO2 gas will theoretically exert no detriment to the local and regional geology while becoming permanently stored below the Earth’s surface … more…

Quercus virginiana

humans are still trying to develop technologies that imitate natural processes … by far the most effective, efficient, time-tested, and safest carbon capture and storage technology is found in photosynthesizing plants, soil microorganisms, and marine and freshwater ecosystems … however, fancy human technology has joined the race …

what are the pros & cons of artificial CO2 gas capture & storage? more…

<i wish i could figure out how to subscript the “2″ & “(g)” in CO2(g) in this wordpress application … my apologies to the chemists who may be perturbed by the incorrect notations throughout my posts!>

first of all, what exactly is CO2 gas capture and storage? … well, that’s a good question! … and how is the CO2 captured in the first place?

CO2 gas is a by-product (as well as a reactant and resource) of innumerable chemical processes — biological, geological, and cosmic … however, the rate at which CO2 gas increases in Earth’s atmosphere, as well as the cyclic patterns of fluctuating CO2 gas concentrations relative to other atmospheric gases, have both changed dramatically since the onset of the industrial revolution …

increasing atmospheric CO2 levels affect (but don’t determine) climate and weather patterns … hence, CO2 is considered a “greenhouse gas”, which contributes to the current global warming trends we are witnessing …
more…