Iceland review - 2019, Page 104

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Iceland Review
How about an old fish factory for lunch and
a run-down bus station for dinner? Treat your
taste buds at Iceland’s first street food halls.
Hlemmur Food Hall & Grandi Food Hall.
mathallir.is
Reykjavík
Food Halls
Steam from Hellisheiði power station’s turbines is
collected. The steam is over 99.5% water vapour
and under 0.5% geothermal gases. The most
abundant are carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen
sulphide (H2S), but the steam also contains gases
such as hydrogen, nitrogen and argon.
The steam is channelled into a tower where it is
“showered” with water. Because CO2 and H2S are
water soluble, they dissolve to form a sort of sul-
phurous soda water. The remaining gases, which
are less water-soluble, are released through the
cooling tower of the power plant.
The slightly acidic, carbon-infused soda water
is then injected into porous basalt rock around
800m (2,626ft) below the earth’s surface.
The soda water fills the cavities in the porous
basalt, where the CO2 and H2S react with metals
such as calcium, magnesium, and iron which are
released from the rock.
Within two years, the soda water solidifies into
carbonate minerals such as calcite in the case of
CO2 - and sulphide minerals such as pyrite (fool’s
gold) in the case of H2S, and small amounts of
other minerals.
The carbon is now permanently stored under-
ground – out of the atmosphere for good.
How does CarbFix work?
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