It seems that I am not the only one who doesn't understand entropy :-0
So let me put it another way. The reason that the oxygen does not drop
off the carbon is due to the Second Law of Thermodynamics. When you
add the oxygen to the carbon you get energy out. The burning of
carbon releases chemical energy, which becomes heat. The only way to
get carbon deoxygenated is to supply energy. Heat is an obvious
source, but plants use solar energy when photosynthesising.
The obvious way to sequestrate carbon would be to convert it into
vegetation. However, it would then be vulnerable to oxygenation since
CO2 is a higher entropy state than (CH2O)n. Burying it at sea would
protect if from the air but not from the oxygen in the sea water. It
is only the parts of wrecks buried in mud that that retain their
wooden structure.
So the answer to sequestrating carbon is to bury tree trunks in the
Mississippi and Ganges deltas :-)
Cheers, Alastair.
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