Is it really carbon sequestering?
Ryan, Pool posting in the oil_from_algae discussion group, wonders about using algae to sequester carbon from a coal fired power plant. He does not believe that’s an accurate statement as he sees sequestering CO2 means permanently removing it from the air.
I think his point is a good one as sequestering carbon from the atmosphere that always exists is different than keeping carbon from entering the atmosphere. His point also applies I believe to “methane sequestration”.
First the definition of sequester as put forward below does not have to imply the definition you gave.
Biochemistry
In biochemistry, the term “sequestration” is used to indicate that a compound or metabolite is locked away so as to not to be readily available. The inhibition or prevention of normal ion behavior by combination with added materials, especially the prevention of metallic ion precipitation from solution by formation of a coordination compound with a tree/to leave or isolate form.
[edit] Climate change
With regards to climate change, the term “sequestration” denotes a technique for the permanent storage of Carbon Dioxide or other IR active compounds so they will not be released to the atmosphere where they would contribute to the greenhouse gas effect.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequestration
Second, Carbon and Methane Sequestration strategies consider the removal of carbon or methane that would otherwise find itself in the atmosphere if the mitigation strategy did not take place as having basically a similar effect in terms of reducing the amount of emissions into the atmosphere.
