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Vol 6 | Issue 1 | Pages 452-454

Advances in Environ ental Studies
ISSN: 2642-4231

Research Article

DOI: 10.36959/742/241

The Challenge of Global CO2 Reduction: The Potential of
the Method Based on Seawater Electrolysis
Katsuyoshi Tatenuma1 and Fabio Spaziani1,2*
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1Kaken Inc, 1044 Hori, Mito 310-0903, Ibaraki, Japan
2
ENEA (C R Casaccia), Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Roma, Italy

Keywords
ar on dio ide Seawater Electrolysis Minerali ation

li ate chan eIntroduction
The atmospheric CO2 concentration dra atically increasedin the lastyears due to fossil fuels consu tion anddeforestation. ro a ro i ately 2
efore the startof the industrial revolution a out a 14
u sur e wasesti ated. This heno enon is understood to e res onsi lefor a rise in lo al te erature which will lead to laciers
eltin and sea levels risin . onse uently the research
focused on at os heric car on ca ture and stora e isfunda ental for achievin the oals of the Paris A ree ent
concernin cli ate chan e iti ation.
A ri ary strate y to face these ro le s is to reduce theconsu tion of fossil fuels y introducin as an e a leelectric en ines and renewa le ener ies. everthelessanother essential tas is the se uestration of the e istin
2e cess in the at os here and its sta le stora e. ro thisoint of view for several years the ost ro isin techni ue
was the eolo ical se uestration throu h in ection andcon ne ent of li ue ed 2 into selected dee under roundroc for ations (such as saline reservoirs and de leted oil
as elds). owever the ha ard of otential
lea a e is2
the ain wea oint related to this ethod. A ore recent
alternative was the eoche ical se uestration ased on 2in ection into inerals that ay drive car onation reactions
roducin sta le car onate roc s and i lyin a ne li i leris of return to the at os here 1,2].
n our o inion
eoche ical se uestration can ee ciently used and o ti i ed y e loitin oth seawaterelectrolysis and the oceans natural 2 a sor tion feature.

Oceans CO2 Absorption
The oceans store a out 6 ti es ore
than the2at os here cover overof the Earth s surface and a sor
a ro i ately 25 of the anthro o enic 2 emissions.
The CO2 assi ilation is achieved oth throu h iolo ically-

ediated and che ically- ediated se uestration: thefor er includes the rocesses that re ulate the inor anic
car on incor oration into or anic a er ( hotosynthesisy hyto lan ton) and the trans ort to the dee sea (theortion of or anic car on not converted ac to 2 via thefood chain sin s to sea oor sedi ents) the la er is ased on
the reaction of 2 with seawater to for car onic acid thatrea s into hydro en ions and icar onate (a che ical forof car on that does not easily esca e the ocean).

Background to our proposal
ur research rou
reviously ro osed in the ast
a ethod for reducin
in the at os here ased on2
the ocean s car onate che istry [3,4 . Accordin to thatsche e when seawater is electroly ed the dissolved
2(incor orated in the car onate fa ily ions) reacts withthe calciu - a nesiu co onents roducin insolu le
car onate inerals aM ( 3)2. f the rocess is carried outon the seawater surface layer the concentration of car onate
ions on the ocean s surface will decrease and the a sor tionof atmospheric CO2 should e enhanced. Moreover seawaterelectrolysis roduces hydro en which can e stored andused sold as an ener y resource. The electrolysis systeust
e erfor ed usin car on-free ener y (such as solar to do
not release CO2). A si ilar a roach was recently ro osed
y other researchers con r in the validity and feasi ilityof the idea 5 .

*Corresponding author: Fabio Spaziani, Kaken Inc, 1044 Hori,Mito 310-0903, Ibaraki, Japan
Accepted: March 02, 2022
Published online: March 04, 2022
Citation: Tatenuma K, Spaziani F (2022) The Challenge of Global
CO2 Reduction: The Potential of the Method Based on SeawaterElectrolysis. Adv Environ Stud 6(1):452-454

Copyright: 2 22 Tatenu a et al. This is an o en-access article distri uted under the ter sof the reative oons A ri ution icense which er its unrestricted use distri ution andre roduction in any ediu
rovided the ori inal author and source are credited.

S CHOLARS. D IRECT
Open Access | Page 452 |Citation: Tatenu a S a iani (2 22) The hallen e of lo al
Adv Environ Stud 6(1):452-454

Figure 1: Sche e of at os heric22

se uestration lant ased on seawater electrolysis.

owever it ust e considered that if the roduced
car onate inerals are le to sedi ent in the ocean s dee
layer the seawater al alinity will tend to decrease the a ility
to a sor
will e reduced and e ects on the arine2
environ ent ay occur. Therefore we ro ose to revise therocess as follows.

Suggestions for an improved and efficient
CO2 sequestration plant based on seawaterelectrolysis
The main part of our CO2 se uestration lant will e theelectrolysis syste which could e uilt on the coast or as ano shore la or . The ener y will e rovided y a dedicatedsolar ower syste ( i ure 1).
The insolu le car onate inerals will e retrieved andreused for any ur oses (such as the roduction of fertili ers
or dru s su le ents use in the construction industry etc.)
instead of le n the de osit on the sea ed.
concentration in theue to the e ect of increased
2at os here and the a ove entioned natural 2 a sor tiony the ocean the seawater
showed a decrease of a out. 5 in the lastyears. As a conse uence it is e ectedthat the CO2 a sor tion rate will tend to decrease. Therefore
it will e i ortant not only to retreat urify the in ut
seawater ( efore the treat ent) to roduce water ure
enou h for electrolysis ut also to control the characteristicsof the out ut seawater (a er the treat ent) and to checrestore theand the che ical co onents ( a and M )de leted durin the rocess.
The ain reactions of the electrolysis rocess will e: onthe cathode of the electrolytic cell will ta e lace the reactions
Tatenuma and Spaziani. Adv Environ Stud 2022, 6(1):452-454

Reduction: The Potential of the Method Based on Seawater Electrolysis.

roducin hydro en ( 2O + e) and car onate
22+2+inerals ( a M
22a-M( 3)2 2 2 )3on the anode throu h the water-s li n reaction ( 22 ++ 2e ) chloride ion o idation reaction will e achieved
2(2 ll2ydrolysisl -).

The ClO- ion ay a ect the arine ecosyste due to its
otential e ect on the iota (it has iocide ro erty) and it
is roduced ro ortionally to the electrolysis rate. t can e
eli inated usin activated car on or electrolytic reduction
treatment.
releaseAs a result of s all-scale e eri ents no2
occurs durin the roduction of car onate
ineralreci itates. n addition we veri ed that y i in thecathode-treated seawater and the anode-treated seawater
water havin a sli htly al aline
co ared to the in ut
seawater is o tained. Therefore it is also ossi le to contrast
the acidi cation of seawater and to ro ote the a sor tionof atmospheric CO2.
To su
are:utheain features of the ro osedethod

1) Seawater electrolysis can e ectively se uestrateatmospheric CO2.
2) CO2 is converted into solid sta le car onate)

inerals.

seful resources ( inerals and hydro en as) can eenerated and reused.

4) By usin car on-free electricity (solar or wind ener y)
new 2 is not released.
5) t can evolve as a new ty e of usiness.
This ro osal re uires the e a ination and contri ution
Open Access | Page 453 |Citation: Tatenu a S a iani (2 22) The hallen e of lo al
Adv Environ Stud 6(1):452-454

2

fro e erts in any ranches of environ ental sciences.
e will e lad to receive coents and o inions.

Reduction: The Potential of the Method Based on Seawater Electrolysis.

References

3. Tatenu a (2) A Pro osal for lo al Reduction Method ofsolation of sur lus
fro the ios hereAt os heric2
2and it to for an insolu le ineral onto a sea o o . ar on
io ide Reduction Metallur y 5-4 .

1. Blondes MS Merrill M Anderson ST et al. (2 1 ) ar on
io ide Minerali ation easi ility in the nited States. S S
Scienti c nvesti ations Re ort 2 1 -5.

4. Tatenu a Su u i Arai et al. (2) ar onate Production
Behavior throu h Electrolysis Treat ent of Seawater and ts
E ect. Bulletin of the Society of Sea ater Science 5 : 1 -112.

2.

5.

iiu (2 16) Ris Assess ent of the eolo ical Stora e of
2: A Review. eolo ic ar on Se uestration. S rin er 24 2 4.

a Plante E Si one
A anet al. (2 21) Saline waterased
inerali ation
athway for i atonne-scale
2ana e ent. A S Sustaina le he En : 1-1.

DOI: 10.36959/742/241
Copyright: 2 22 Tatenu a et al. This is an o en-access article distri uted under the ter sof the reative oons A ri ution icense which er its unrestricted use distri ution andre roduction in any ediu
rovided the ori inal author and source are credited.

S CHOLARS. D IRECT

Tatenuma and Spaziani. Adv Environ Stud 2022, 6(1):452-454

Open Access | Page 454 |