4 ms·
No, because the buried wood would decompose. Decomposing wood releases its stored carbon as carbon dioxide, which will slowly evaporate through the covering dir
by Jolter 7y ago
No, because the buried wood would decompose. Decomposing wood releases its stored carbon as carbon dioxide, which will slowly evaporate through the covering dirt.
One scheme that actually would work is to convert the wood to coal, then burying it. That could be done without adding any energy by using old-fashioned methods for charcoal burning.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charcoal_burner https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charcoal_burner
Because charcoal is chemically inert, the buried charcoal should stay put for up to a few hundred years,rather than a couple of decades for the decomposing wood.
- reitzensteinm 7y agoHow slowly though? Intuitively, I would think that trees piled wide and 20m high and covered over would still be mostly there in my lifetime. Is this wrong? (genuine question) 500m high is another level. If it took, say, 1000 years for them to decompose fully and release their CO2 in to the atmosphere, that's still potentially useful even if its technically net zero. We really only need to get past the next 100 years.
- istjohn 7y agoIf it's buried under enough dirt, there won't be enough oxygen for it to decompose.
- jxcl 7y agoConverting wood to charcoal is a process that requires a lot of energy, so you'd need to keep that in mind when you make your carbon calculations.
- ars 7y ago> No, because the buried wood would decompose. Only if there is water. Bury it deep enough, or protect it from water (i.e. like a landfill).
- quixoticelixer- 7y agoOxygen is much more important than water for decomposition.