7. Recovery and disposal of CO2 and sulphur in Iceland: Chemistry to the rescue, September 17, 2021

On 17 September 2021, I honoured a pre-existing arrangement to visit to the Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant in Iceland. The superheated hot water used for power generation and district heating contains a number of gases dissolved in the disposal water: essentially carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen sulphide. The CO2 is then dissolved in water (as in sparking water) and injected into the basaltic rock forming stable, solid carbonates, such as calcite. The sulphide is converted into the very stable mineral, iron pyrite (fool’s gold). The process I saw is marketed under the Carbfix brand. Although CO2 emissions from geothermal plants are comparatively low, the Icelandic Government wants to move emissions to zero.

Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant

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