Conveners
Plenary: Session 1 - ERW Current And Future Roadmap
- XinRan Liu (University of Edinburgh)
Plenary: Session 2 - Measurements
- Mike Kelland
Plenary: Session 3 - Further Enhancements
- Anežka Radkova
Plenary: Session 4 - Resource Estimates
- Mel Murphy
Advancing terrestrial enhanced weathering as a climate mitigation strategy will require addressing open questions on technical readiness, environmental concerns and deployment strategies. While related lab and pilot scale research are progressing, there is still a large gap between the current state of terrestrial enhanced weathering activity, and that required for megaton or gigaton scale...
The Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation (LC3M) has been at the forefront of research into enhanced rock weathering (ERW) as a potential means of removing atmospheric CO2. Apart from laboratory studies and large-scale field trials, we undertake modelling studies aimed at assessing the feasibility, cost and CDR potential of ERW at national scales. These modelling efforts entail the...
Geochemical carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies capture and store carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere using alkaline materials that are rich in calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg). Alkaline materials include natural rocks such as basalt, industrial by-products such as steel slag, or artificially generated and industrially produced materials such as lime. Geochemical CDR technologies...
There is growing interest in the use of alkaline rock powders with high carbon dioxide removal (CDR) potential as agricultural amendments, with the goal of sequestering CO2 while providing plant-available nutrients and deacidifying soils. However, in order for this practice to be widely implemented as a negative emissions technology, there must be robust and widely accepted monitoring,...
Nearly all greenhouse gas emissions pathways that restrict global temperature increase to ≤2°C above pre-industrial necessitate Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) from the atmosphere1. One proposed CDR solution is Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW), which aims to artificially speed up natural silicate or carbonate weathering by applying crushed calcium and magnesium rich rocks to agricultural soils....
Greenlandic glacial rock flour (GRF) is a potential source of silicate minerals for CO2 uptake via enhanced weathering which would mitigate the need for energy-intensive crushing due to the naturally fine grain size (D50: 2.6 microns) of this material. The chemical makeup of this material also indicates that it may be a good source of plant nutrients, including K in particular. Results thus...
Basalt is a widely available natural silicate rock that is suitable to use in agricultural setup due to its diverse plant-relevant nutrient content. Yet, it has a rather slow weathering rate compared to minerals such as olivine and wollastonite. This is hypothesised to be partially due to formation of Fe and Al precipitates that form around the minerals, blocking bicarbonate - active site...
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are highly abundant microbes in agricultural fields. They form an obligatory symbiotic relationship with crops, providing essential nutrients such as phosphorous while receiving carbohydrates and lipids from their host plants. Moreover, AMF play a crucial role in improving soil structure, and influencing the formation and stabilization of soil organic matter....
Microbial-Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) is a biogeochemical process that induces the formation of carbonate minerals. Via urea hydrolysis, soil microorganisms are stimulated through supplying urea, calcium, and simple carbon nutrients. Calcium chloride (CaCl$_2$) is typically used as a source for calcium, but basic silicate rocks and other materials have been investigated as...
Enhanced rock weathering (ERW) is a recognized carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategy that uses crushed silicate rock (e.g., basalt) to capture atmospheric CO2, offering co-benefits such as improved soil health and increased crop production [1]. One of the main disadvantages of ERW includes the production of energy needed to crush and transport rocks to their application site [2]. Basalt...
Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW), a technology based on amending soils with crushed calcium- and magnesium-rich silicate minerals has substantial large-scale CO2 removal potential globally and in the UK. Evaluation of the available resources of these minerals and current production capacity is crucial for early-stage deployment of this approach. A robust understanding of the potential...
As an EU Member State, Spain is required to adopt national soil, energy and environmental plans to make notable progress on its climate actions and land use management policies. A recent study [1] highlighted the high potential for Spain to host viable geochemical CO2 removal (CDR) schemes to make valuable contributions towards national reduction targets, EU environmental regulations and...
