05.05.2019

# Projects

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Project: Project Vesta

"Project Vesta is a project to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and oceans by accelerating the weathering of a type of rock called olivine. When olivine interacts with water and the CO2 dissolved in it, a chemical reaction (called weathering) occurs that creates a bicarbonate solution that marine animals like corals use in their shells. The CO2 remains locked in that form and eventually settles as sediment or turns to limestone rock on the sea floor."

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03.09.2018

# Media

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Brunel University London: Engineering the climate could cost us the earth

"Capitalism is pouring billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere – driving climate change. Proposed solutions include reflecting the sun’s light away from earth and sucking the carbon out again – through geoengineering. But is this realistic, is it safe, is it just sleight of hand?"

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05.02.2018

# New Publications

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Griffioen, Jasper (2017): Enhanced weathering of olivine in seawater. The efficiency as revealed by thermodynamic scenario analysis

Griffioen, Jasper (2017): Enhanced weathering of olivine in seawater. The efficiency as revealed by thermodynamic scenario analysis. In The Science of the Total Environment 575, pp. 536–544. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.09.008.

"This study aimed to characterise how olivine can weather in seawater, to elucidate the role of secondary precipitation and to ascertain the efficiency in terms of molar CO2 removal per mole of olivine dissolution. Geochemical thermodynamic equilibrium modelling was used, which considered both the variable mineralogical composition of olivine and the kinds of secondary precipitates that may be formed. The advantage is that such an approach is independent from local or regional factors as temperature, related kinetics, mineralogy, etc. The results show that the efficiency falls when secondary precipitates are formed."

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10.04.2017

# New Publications

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Meysman, Filip J. R.; Montserrat, Francesc (2017): Negative CO2 emissions via enhanced silicate weathering in coastal environments

Meysman, Filip J. R.; Montserrat, Francesc (2017): Negative CO2 emissions via enhanced silicate weathering in coastal environments. In Biology letters 13 (4). DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2016.0905

"Enhanced silicate weathering (ESW) proposes to exploit the natural process of mineral weathering for the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. Here, we discuss the potential of applying ESW in coastal environments as a climate change mitigation option. By deliberately introducing fast-weathering silicate minerals onto coastal sediments, alkalinity is released into the overlying waters, thus creating a coastal CO2 sink. Compared with other NETs, coastal ESW has the advantage that it counteracts ocean acidification, does not interfere with terrestrial land use and can be directly integrated into existing coastal management programmes with existing (dredging) technology."

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27.03.2017

# New Publications

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Montserrat, Francesc; et al. (2017): Olivine Dissolution in Seawater: Implications for CO2 Sequestration through Enhanced Weathering in Coastal Environments

Montserrat, Francesc; Renforth, Phil; Hartmann, Jens; Leermakers, Martine; Knops, Pol; Meysman, Filip J. R. (2017): Olivine Dissolution in Seawater: Implications for CO2 Sequestration through Enhanced Weathering in Coastal Environments. In Environ. Sci. Technol. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b05942.

"Here, we present results from batch reaction experiments, in which forsteritic olivine was subjected to rotational agitation in different seawater media for periods of days to months. Olivine dissolution caused a significant increase in alkalinity of the seawater with a consequent DIC increase due to CO2 invasion, thus confirming viability of the basic concept of enhanced silicate weathering."

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06.07.2016

# Media

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Energy Collective: The Carbonate Solution, Part 2: Other Approaches

"I want to cover three other ways to exploit the chemistries of common carbonate minerals for large scale carbon capture and storage. They are less direct, and each has its own issues, but all three are much more energy-efficient than brute force calcination of limestone."

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24.04.2016

# Media

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Environmental Research Web: How much carbon would adding olivine to the oceans remove?

"Give them enough time and some rocks will munch carbon dioxide, removing it from the atmosphere. Now scientists are using computer models to explore the possibility of speeding up this natural weathering process by sprinkling rock granules in the oceans, as a way of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere faster and counteracting climate change."

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02.03.2016

# New Publications

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Fasihnikoutalab, Mohammad Hamed; et al. (2016): Utilisation of carbonating olivine for sustainable soil stabilisation

"This paper describes the first study demonstrating the potential of olivine as a soil stabiliser. Olivine has been shown to provide a reactive source of magnesium oxide capable of sequestering carbon dioxide. The effects of olivine additions on consistency limits, compaction characteristics and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of soil are described."

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20.02.2016

# New Publications

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Hauck, Judith; et al. (2016): Iron fertilisation and century-scale effects of open ocean dissolution of olivine in a simulated CO2 removal experiment

Hauck, Judith; Köhler, Peter; Wolf-Gladrow, Dieter; Völker, Christoph (2016): Iron fertilisation and century-scale effects of open ocean dissolution of olivine in a simulated CO2 removal experiment. In Environ. Res. Lett. 11 (2), p. 24007–24007. DOI 10.1088/1748-9326/11/2/024007.

"Here we use a marine carbon cycle model to investigate the effects of one CDR technique: the open ocean dissolution of the iron-containing mineral olivine. We analyse the maximum CDR potential of an annual dissolution of 3 Pg olivine during the 21st century and focus on the role of the micro-nutrient iron for the biological carbon pump."

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11.06.2015

# New Publications

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Renforth, P.; et al. (2015): The dissolution of olivine added to soil: Implications for enhanced weathering

Renforth, P.; Pogge von Strandmann, P.A.E.; Henderson, G. M. (2015): The dissolution of olivine added to soil: Implications for enhanced weathering. In Applied Geochemistry 61, pp. 109–118. DOI 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2015.05.016.

"Here we present results from laboratory flow-through dissolution experiments which seek to bridge this observational discrepancy by using columns of soil returned to the laboratory from a field site. We constrain the dissolution rate of olivine added to the top of one of these columns, while maintaining much of the complexity inherent in the soil environment."

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