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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

This Lab-Made Mineral Just Became a Key Candidate For Reducing CO₂ in The Atmosphere [sciencealert.com]

Scientists just worked out a way of rapidly producing a mineral capable of storing carbon dioxide (CO2) - giving us a potentially exciting option for dealing with our increasingly overcooked planet [sciencealert.com]. Magnesite [wikipedia.org], which is a type of magnesium carbonate, forms when magnesium combines with carbonic acid - CO₂ dissolved in water. If we can produce this mineral at a massive scale, it could safely store large amounts of carbon dioxide we simply don't need in our planet's atmosphere.

[...] Being able to make the mineral in the lab could be a major step forward in terms of how effective carbon sequestration might eventually be. "Using microspheres means that we were able to speed up magnesite formation by orders of magnitude," says [Ian] Power [phys.org]. "This process takes place at room temperature, meaning that magnesite production is extremely energy efficient."

[...] With a tonne of naturally-occurring magnesite able to capture around half a tonne of CO₂, we're going to need a lot of magnesite, and somewhere to put it all as well. As with other carbon capture processes, it's not yet clear whether this will successfully scale up as much as it needs to. That said, these new discoveries mean lab-made magnesite could one day be helpful – it puts the mineral on the table as an option for further investigation.

Abstract [goldschmidt.info].

Related: Negative Emission Strategy: Active Carbon Capture [soylentnews.org]
Carbon Capture From Air Closer to Commercial Viability [soylentnews.org]

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