Mineralisation – Carbonation and Enhanced Weathering

Publication Overview

This technical review is an update of a 2005 IEAGHG review of mineralisation as means of CO₂ sequestration, which concluded “Significant breakthroughs are needed but obstacles to be overcome are considerable”. This review confirms that view and concludes that recent research initiatives are unlikely to lead to technically and economically viable CO₂ sequestration processes. An insurmountable barrier is the scale of mineral handling that would be required for CO₂ absorption by a mineral at a coal-fired power station. The amount of igneous mineral material to be mined, processed and returned to the ground would involve materials handling at an order of magnitude greater scale than the scale of the coal mining operation that provided the fuel that is burned to produce the CO₂. That would result in significant environmental consequences and life-cycle energy demands

Publication Summary

That later report found that many of the processes identified in the earlier scoping report were are no longer under consideration and concluded “There has been a shift to investigate other mineral carbonation processes since the IEAGHG 2000 report as researchers look for an economically viable route. Research is still active but in a relatively small number of institutions. Significant breakthroughs are needed but obstacles to be overcome are considerable. However, the raw materials required for mineral carbonation are globally abundant and this potential makes further research attractive. A watching brief should be kept for significant advances in mineral carbonation.” In this review the process challenges of in-situ mineralisation are discussed and some recent papers are reviewed describing work to address those challenges in the search for significant breakthroughs