When CO2 is pumped into underground porous rocks, it combines with metal
ions in the salty water that fills the rock pores and mineralizes into mineral carbonates, such as calcium carbonate (CaCO3).
But such a device is relatively inefficient, says Bruce Logan at Pennsylvania State University
in University Park: as the organic content
in the waste
water falls, the voltage produced by the bacteria drops and pulls fewer
ions out of the saline
water, leaving it with a
salty tang.