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A Lump of Coal, a Bunch of Grapes …

Most people are familiar now with the phrase ‘carbon sequestration’ meaning that carbon dioxide (CO2) is captured and not released into the atmosphere during some processes. Scientists are currently investigating converting CO2 gas from say, coalfired power stations, into an inert form (a sequestered form), which could then be placed under ground, and not contribute to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and hence greenhouse warming. However, even the term ‘to sequester’ is problematic, as indeed is the whole climate change debate. In terms of the latter, it seems that a small but vocal minority are given asmuch airspace as larger groups of concerned scientists, and this causes confusion in the public mind. I checked with theOxford English Dictionary about the meaning of the terms ‘sequester’ and ‘sequestered’. The adjective ‘sequestered’ relates to a place and means it is hidden away.The verb ‘sequester’ canmean to isolate or hideaway in relation to a place, and also has a chemical meaning of ‘no longer available for reactions’. Both a lump of coal and a bunch of grapes are forms of modified carbon, but neither can be considered ‘sequestered’ as both are unstable. Upon burning, coal releases CO2 and produces ash and energy. Coal is very old, and was formed when sedimentary layers covered peat bogs formed from primitive ferns in the Carboniferous era. The sugar in a bunch of grapes on the other hand is at most a few months old when used to make wine. Depending on the style of wine, grape berries contain about a quarter of their weight as sugar—most of the rest is water. Crushing grapes liberates the sugar-rich juice which allows yeast to produce alcohol and CO2. Fermentations in a commercial winery are characterised by many bubbles breaking the surface as the CO2 is liberated. The English word ‘ferment’ comes from the Latin word fervere, meaning to boil. Vine leaves photosynthesise, that is, they absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and using energy from sunlight they chemically combine CO2 with water to make simple sugar molecules and these are transported to the fruit. Some sugars are converted to socalled secondary metabolites like acids, colour and flavour compounds. After harvest, the ripe grapes are crushed at the winery, yeast is added and during fermentation CO2 is released as ethanol is formed. Thus, we can see some similarity between a lump of coal and a bunch of grapes. They are both forms of stored carbon and both release carbon dioxide when processed by man.