Tag: enhanced weathering

Thomas D. W. Corbett, Marcus Westholm, Anna Rosling, Tullia Calogiuri, Reinaldy Poetra, Harun Niron, Mathilde Hagens, Alix Vidal, Jan Willem Van Groenigen, Jens Hartmann, Ivan A. Janssens, Lukas Rieder, Eric Struyf, Michiel Van Tendeloo, Siegfried E. Vlaeminck, Sara Vicca, Anna Neubeck IN: npj Materials Degradation, 8, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41529-024-00454-w

Here the authors are investigating the importance of the organic carbon feedstock to support silicate mineral weathering in small-scale flow through bioreactors and subsequent CO₂ sequestration. They combine two bacteria and two fungi, widely reported for their weathering potential, in simple flow through bioreactors (columns) consisting of forsterite and widely available, cheap organic carbon sources (wheat straw, bio-waste digestate of pig manure and biowaste, and manure compost), over six weeks.

LINK

Bing Liang, Jianbing Wei, Shangyu Wu, Heyang Hao IN: Science of The Total Environment, 925, 171825, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171825

The scientific premise of this study is that CO₂ sequestration in agriculturally relevant, organically-deficient saline soil can be achieved by incorporating alkaline earth silicates. Volcanic ash (VA) was used as a soil amendment for CO₂ removal from saline soil by leveraging enhanced silicate rock weathering (ERW). The study pursued two primary objectives: first, the authors aimed to evaluate the impact of various doses of VA, employed as an amendment for organically-deficient soil, on the growth performance of key cultivated crops (sorghum and mung bean) in inland saline-alkaline agricultural regions of northeastern China. Second, they aimed to assess alterations in the physical properties of the amended soil through mineralogical examinations, utilizing X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analyses, quantifying the increase in inorganic carbon content within the soil.

LINK

Aaron Bufe, Jeremy K. C. Rugenstein, Niels Hovius IN: Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.adk0957

 Solute-chemistry datasets from mountain streams in different orogens isolate the impact of erosion on silicate weathering—a carbon dioxide (CO₂) sink—and coupled sulfide and carbonate weathering—a CO₂ source. Contrasting erosion sensitivities of these reactions produce a CO₂-drawdown maximum at erosion rates of ~0.07 millimeters per year. Thus, landscapes with moderate uplift rates bolster Earth’s inorganic CO₂ sink, whereas more rapid uplift decreases or even reverses CO₂ sequestration. This concept of an “erosion optimum” for CO₂ drawdown reconciles conflicting views on the impact of mountain building on the carbon cycle and permits estimates of geologic CO₂ fluxes dependent upon tectonic changes.

LINK

Fangna Wang, Feifei Zhu, Deze Liu, Yuying Qu, Dong Liu, Jin Xie, Ang Wang, Ronghua Kang, Zhi Quan, Yinghua Li, Xin Chen, Guochen Li, Erik A. Hobbie, Yunting Fang IN: Plant and Soil,  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-024-06570-5

Enhanced silicate rock weathering (ERW) on cropland soils can increase crop yield and promote carbon dioxide sequestration. Applying silicate rock powder to flooded rice paddies can promote weathering, but the effects of ERW on rice production and CO₂ removal rates in the field remain unclear. The authors investigated the effects of adding wollastonite (CaSiO₃) powder (5 t ha⁻¹) to rice paddy plots on soil properties, rice yield, rice grain quality, grain arsenic, grain cadmium, and soil CO₂ sequestration in Liaoning Province, Northeast China.

LINK

Hannah Green, Peter Larsen, Yang Liu, Paul N. Nelson IN: Applied Geochemistry, 105940, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2024.105940

Sugarcane-mill ash has been suggested as having high potential for carbon dioxide removal via enhanced weathering, but this had not been quantitatively assessed. The aims of this study were to 1) assess the CDR potential of various sugarcane-mill ashes via EW, and 2) investigate the impact of soil conditions and mill ash properties on the CDR. This was done by characterising physical and chemical properties of five mill ashes from Australia and simulating weathering using a one-dimensional reactive transport model. 

LINK

Mardin Abdalqadir, David Hughes, Sina Rezaei Gomari, Ubaid Rafiq IN: Environmental Science and Pollution Research, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32498-5

Enhanced weathering represents an approach by leveraging the natural process of rock weathering to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide in agricultural lands. This review synthesizes current research on EW, focusing on its mechanisms, influencing factors, and pathways for successful integration into agricultural practices.

LINK

David J. Beerling, Dimitar Z. Epihov, Ilsa B. Kantola, Michael D. Masters, Tom Reershemius, Noah J. Planavsky, Christopher T. Reinhard, Jacob S. Jordan, Sarah J. Thorne, James Weber, Maria Val Martin, Robert P. Freckleton, Sue E. Hartley, Rachael H. James, Christopher R. Pearce, Evan H. DeLucia, Steven A. Banwart IN: PNAS 121/9, e2319436121, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2319436121

Terrestrial enhanced weathering of silicate rocks, such as crushed basalt, on farmlands is a promising scalable atmospheric carbon dioxide removal strategy that urgently requires performance assessment with commercial farming practices. The authors report findings from a large-scale replicated EW field trial across a typical maize-soybean rotation on an experimental farm in the heart of the United Sates Corn Belt over 4 y (2016 to 2020). 

LINK

Ryan E. Champiny, Yang Lin IN: Sandy Soils, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-50285-9_11

The use of basalt, olivine, dolomite, or crushed concrete fines as an agricultural soil amendment provides a promising method of carbon sequestration, as calcium silicate and hydroxide minerals present can remove CO₂ during its weathering processes. Besides carbon sequestration, such material can be weathered into fine particles that help to stabilize soil organic matter and increase soil water-holding and nutrient-retention capacity. However, the weathering of basalt, olivine, industrial waste, etc., may also release heavy metals that pose adverse environmental and health impacts. This chapter provides an overview of the weathering process and its potential application for sandy soils.

LINK

Lukas Rieder, Thorben Amann, Jens Hartmann IN: Frontiers in Climate 5, https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2023.1283107

To effectively monitor and verify carbon dioxide removal through enhanced weathering, this study investigates the use of soil electrical conductivity and volumetric water content as proxies for alkalinity and dissolved inorganic carbon in soil water.

LINK