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_alternator_last Sunday at 7:50 PM2 repliesview on HN

I've heard of capture technologies that literally pump organic matter down far enough that it sinks to the seabed (high enough pressure collapses air bubbles and results negative buoyancy). The problem is that your pumps need to operate using less carbon than you capture (easy with solar?) and that they need to be durable enough to pump billions of gallons of seawater with low maintenance (much harder, salt is terrible for machines).


Replies

Lyngbakrlast Sunday at 10:47 PM

Even if you get it to the seabed, the majority will be remineralised there. And if you pump enough down there to bury significant amounts of organic carbon, the bottom waters will likely become hypoxic as a result.

card_zerolast Sunday at 9:38 PM

Why can't we make pumps that withstand salt, dammit. It seems pathetic.

How about like a medical pump? Have a flexible polyurethane tube that's squidged by cams to pump the seawater through it. The cams stay in the dry.

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