AUSTFHU Year book 2022/2023

In Her Element:

Burying CO2 Deep Within

By Devora M. Liss

Scientists unanimously agree that a crucial step towards tackling global warming will be reducing the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere. One method is to proactively capture CO2 after its creation but before its release – from exhaust pipes, power stations, etc. This is done using molecules containing nitrogen (amines), which loosely bond with the CO2 and prevent it from spewing into the atmosphere. The amines can later be separated from the CO2 and reused. But the CO2 remains, in gas form – what can be done with it?

One approach is called geological carbon sequestration, where pressurized CO2 is injected deep into the earth’s bedrock. It reacts with other minerals, creating a new solid mineral called carbonate, which remains under the earth’s surface.

Geological carbon sequestration is an entirely new field of scientific research, and Dr. Daphna

Shimon is aiming to be at its forefront. Her unique approach involves applying nuclear magnetic resonance techniques to gain a deeper understanding of the chemical reactions that give rise to carbonates. Using complex machinery, she’s developing models that predict the most safe and efficient methods for geological carbon sequestration for generations to come.

In fact, Dr. Shimon is taking this one step further. Nuclear magnetic resonance is often inaccurate when metal ions are present (which is almost always the case), so she is using an additional technique, called dynamic nuclear polarization, to increase the accuracy of her readings. She is developing scientific protocols for these techniques, which would serve as guidelines for scientists worldwide using similar methods.

Dr. Daphna Shimon, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry, with the nuclear magnetic resonance machine in her lab. (Photo: Maxim Dinshtein)

This article originally appeared in the Hebrew University’s Scopus magazine, and is reprinted with permission from the Hebrew University.