Direct Mineralization of Atmospheric CO2 by Enhanced Weathering

Rock weathering could be used as an effective negative CO2 emission technology to help solve the climate crisis.

This process could be sped up by orders of magnitudes in an industrial setting by exposing atmospheric CO2 to rock powder ground to micron-sized particles under optimal weathering conditions.

In this project we will explore the best conditions under which this can be realized by exposing ground rocks to atmospheric CO2, especially under conditions of high humidity.

This method applied to the industrial scale could have the potential of removing hundreds of gigatons of CO2 per year, while keeping energetic costs and land usage at a minimum.The objectives of this project are to identify (i) the best rock type, (ii) the ideal conditions (grain size, humidity, temperature) and (iii) the best batch reactors that could be used to capture atmospheric CO2 a northern European setting such as Sweden.

This will be achieved in a laboratory study screening candidate local rock types from the mining industry, and environmental conditions (humidity, temperature) for CO2 capture. The mineralized sand could be used for construction purposes, for example in concrete or as fill dirt.

The results of the project can then potentially be used to scale up the technology commercially, removing carbon from the atmosphere at a large scale, helping to solve the climate crisis.