Shallow Geologic Storage of Carbon to Remove Atmospheric CO2 and Reduce Flood Risk

Geologic carbon storage currently implies that CO2 isinjected into reservoirs more than 1 km deep, but this concept ofgeologic storage can be expanded to include the injection of solid,carbon-bearing particles into geologic formations that are one totwo orders of magnitude shallower than conventional storage reservoirs.Wood is half carbon, available in large quantities at a modest cost,and can be milled into particles and injected as a slurry. We demonstratethe feasibility of shallow geologic storage of carbon by a field experiment,and the injection process also raises the ground surface. The resultingCO(2) storage and ground uplift rates upscale to a techniquethat could contribute to the mitigation of climate change by storingcarbon as well as helping to adapt to flooding risks by elevatingthe ground surface above flood levels. A life-cycle assessment indicatesthat CO2 emissions caused by shallow geologic storage ofcarbon are a small fraction of the injected carbon. This project demonstrates that injectingsolid particlesof biomass can store carbon and raise the ground surface at ratesthat would reduce atmospheric CO2 and help adapt to floodingcaused by climate change.