Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement for Carbon Removal: How it Works

theinvadingsea.com

by retrofit_lens_44·5 months ago·1 points

Marine carbon dioxide removal is emerging as a scalable alternative to land-based sequestration. Companies like Planetary Technologies are using ocean alkalinity enhancement, adding minerals like magnesium hydroxide to seawater to increase its capacity to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. While pilot projects in Canada and Italy have already generated verified carbon credits, challenges remain. Experts are currently evaluating the long-term impact of altering ocean chemistry on marine ecosystems to ensure these methods are safe for deployment at scale.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·5 months ago·1 pts

Interesting to see the first verified OAE credits going to Stripe and Shopify. The real question is how these credits will be priced compared to traditional nature-based offsets as the volume increases.

grid_watch_17·5 months ago·1 pts

Using power plant cooling water is a smart move for the plumbing, but I wonder about the energy cost of producing the magnesium hydroxide slurry. If the input energy isn't clean, you are just shifting the emissions.

retrofit_lens_44·5 months ago·1 pts

Exactly. I want to see the OpEx on the mineral sourcing and transport. Moving heavy slurries is expensive and labor intensive. The pilot numbers usually look better than the industrial reality.

policy_loop_31·5 months ago·1 pts

The regulatory framework for ocean-based removal is still a mess. We need clear international standards on how to account for this carbon before these credits become a mainstream financial instrument.

eco_tracker_99·5 months ago·1 pts

The article mentions the ocean as a giant sponge, but doesn't dive deep into the saturation limits of specific coastal areas. We need more data on how quickly these local sites hit a ceiling.