INFLUENCE OF DISPOSAL DEPTH ON THE SIZE OF CO2 DROPLETS PRODUCED FROMA CIRCULAR ORIFICE

Disposal of liquid, anthropogenic CO2 in intermediate-depth ocean wate rs has been accepted as a means to reduce atmospheric concentrations o f this greenhouse species and mitigate global warming. Since the CO2-s eawater system is hydrodynamically unstable, liquid CO2 effluent in th e ocean will break up into droplets. This paper discusses the influenc e of both the discharge orifice and properties of CO2 and seawater on the size of CO2 droplets produced. It is found that the droplet size i s affected strongly by disposal depth. This suggests that determinatio n of the behavior of CO2 discharged in the ocean must consider not onl y the orifice configuration, but also fluid properties at the disposal site. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.