Rocks play a vital yet often unrecognized role in the carbon cycle. Through a natural process that has helped regulate Earth’s temperature for millennia, chemical reactions transform atmospheric carbon dioxide into solid carbonate minerals and lock it away underground, practically forever. That carbon mineralization process, if enhanced and quickened, could be used to store atmospheric carbon, and be especially useful in dealing with legacy emissions and those from hard-to-abate sources. “There is strong consensus among leading scientists that we do need [CO2 removal and storage] alongside deep emissions reductions” to avoid the impacts of catastrophic climate change, says Katie Lebling, an associate at the World Resources Institute, a global nonprofit. Today, scientists are tapping into the natural mineralization process and working out how to more rapidly store atmospheric carbon dioxide underground. This carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, dubbed subsurface or in-situ carbon mineralization, involves injecting carbon dioxide (and often water) directly into certain rock types to speed up the chemical reactions that transform the gas into a solid. The most suitable rocks within which mineralization can occur are those high in magnesium and calcium, as they react quickly with CO2 and form stable carbonate minerals — rocks like igneous basalts. These rocks are plentiful in many places around the world. This method has already been demonstrated at a number of sites, first and most notably in Iceland, and interest is growing globally. Proponents say the technique could offer a relatively safe, scalable method of permanently storing CO2. The trick…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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