< If the process results in a carbonate, the carbon will be sequestered as a solid and removed. However, if the carbon is oxidized to carbon dioxide, there exists the same problem and limitation as burning fossil fuel. So, one always needs to ask, "what is the fate of the biomass" , whenever a hydrogen fuel source is derived from organic matter. >
The difference is that when we use organic matter from plants to make the hydrogen, the same amount of CO2 is returned to the atmosphere as what came out in the first place to make the plant material. There is no net increase or decrease of CO2 in the atmosphere if we ignore the carbonate part of the argument. If we manage to turn the carbon into a solid form for burial, we can have a net reduction in CO2.
In the case of using fossil fuels, the carbon was already sequestered in the buried coal, oil or gas, and what is released into the atmosphere results in a net increase in CO2. This is all ignoring other factors like the amount of CO2 dissolved in sea water, for instance.
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