Carbonate precipitation in artificial soils produced from basaltic quarry fines and composts: An opportunity for passive carbon sequestration

Manning, David; Renforth, Phil; López-Capél, Elisa; Robertson, Steve; Ghazireh, N

doi:10.1016/j.ijggc.2013.05.012

Cited by 81 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…A number of studies investigate the potential of adding naturally occurring minerals directly to the land surface [ Hartmann et al , ; Hartmann and Kempe , ; Köhler et al , ; Manning , ; Manning et al , ; Moosdorf et al , ; Renforth , ; Schuiling and Krijgsman , ; Taylor et al , ; ten Berge et al , ), coastal environments ( Hangx and Spiers , ; Schuiling and de Boer , ; Montserrat et al , ; Meysman and Montserrat , ], and the open ocean [ Harvey , ; Köhler et al , ]. The feasibility of such approaches is still highly contested given the slower dissolution kinetics at ambient temperatures and pressures, and the solubility limits of naturally occurring minerals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing ocean alkalinity for carbon sequestration

Renforth

Henderson

2017

Reviews of Geophysics

295

263

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Over the coming century humanity may need to find reservoirs to store several trillions of tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from fossil fuel combustion, which would otherwise cause dangerous climate change if it were left in the atmosphere. Carbon storage in the ocean as bicarbonate ions (by increasing ocean alkalinity) has received very little attention. Yet recent work suggests sufficient capacity to sequester copious quantities of CO2. It may be possible to sequester hundreds of billions to trillions of tons of C without surpassing postindustrial average carbonate saturation states in the surface ocean. When globally distributed, the impact of elevated alkalinity is potentially small and may help ameliorate the effects of ocean acidification. However, the local impact around addition sites may be more acute but is specific to the mineral and technology. The alkalinity of the ocean increases naturally because of rock weathering in which >1.5 mol of carbon are removed from the atmosphere for every mole of magnesium or calcium dissolved from silicate minerals (e.g., wollastonite, olivine, and anorthite) and 0.5 mol for carbonate minerals (e.g., calcite and dolomite). These processes are responsible for naturally sequestering 0.5 billion tons of CO2 per year. Alkalinity is reduced in the ocean through carbonate mineral precipitation, which is almost exclusively formed from biological activity. Most of the previous work on the biological response to changes in carbonate chemistry have focused on acidifying conditions. More research is required to understand carbonate precipitation at elevated alkalinity to constrain the longevity of carbon storage. A range of technologies have been proposed to increase ocean alkalinity (accelerated weathering of limestone, enhanced weathering, electrochemical promoted weathering, and ocean liming), the cost of which may be comparable to alternative carbon sequestration proposals (e.g., $20–100 tCO2−1). There are still many unanswered technical, environmental, social, and ethical questions, but the scale of the carbon sequestration challenge warrants research to address these.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing ocean alkalinity for carbon sequestration

Renforth

Henderson

2017

Reviews of Geophysics

295

263

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“…Because the majority of the solution in the Hubbard Brooke watercourse is derived from shallow groundwater, (and lysimeters placed in the soil showed little contribution of the distributed wollastonite to the groundwater), it is thought that the chemical response to the addition is a result of dissolution of the material that fell initially into the watercourse (about 1.5% of the total). Manning et al (2013) were able to calculate a single minimum dissolution rate of 10 À16 moles cm À2 s À1 for crushed dolerite that was weathered in an artificial soil created using quarry fines mixed with organic materials (food industry waste and compost). They inferred a mass balance of calcium from mineral carbonate formation; the actual dissolution rate is therefore poorly constrained.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The dissolution of olivine added to soil: Implications for enhanced weathering

Renforth

Strandmann

Henderson

2015

Applied Geochemistry

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Editorial handling by M. Kersten a b s t r a c tChemical weathering of silicate minerals consumes atmospheric CO 2 and is a fundamental component of geochemical cycles and of the climate system on long timescales. Artificial acceleration of such weathering (''enhanced weathering'') has recently been proposed as a method of mitigating anthropogenic climate change, by adding fine-grained silicate materials to continental surfaces. The efficacy of such intervention in the carbon cycle strongly depends on the mineral dissolution rates that occur, but these rates remain uncertain. Dissolution rates determined from catchment scale investigations are generally several orders of magnitude slower than those predicted from kinetic information derived from laboratory studies. 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. Continual addition of water to the top of the soil columns, and analysis of elemental composition of waters exiting at the base was conducted for a period of five months, and the solid and leachable composition of the soils was also assessed before and after the experiments. Chemical results indicate clear release of Mg 2+ from the dissolution of olivine and, by comparison with a control case, allow the rate of olivine dissolution to be estimated between 10 À16.4 and 10 À15.5 moles(Mg) cm À2 s À1 . Measurements also allow secondary mineral formation in the soil to be assessed, and suggest that no significant secondary uptake of Mg 2+ has occurred. The olivine dissolution rates are intermediate between those of pure laboratory and field studies and provide a useful constraint on weathering processes in natural environments, such as during soil profile deepening or the addition of mineral dust or volcanic ash to soils surfaces. The dissolution rates also provide critical information for the assessment of enhanced weathering including the expected surface-area and energy requirements.

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“…Following microbial mineralisation, a proportion of organic carbon in soils becomes fixed as pedogenic carbonates (Cerling, ). Amendment of soils with weatherable calcium sources, such as calcium‐bearing silicate rocks, and the consequent formation of calcium carbonates provide a permanent sink for mineralised organic C (Beerling et al, ; Manning, Renforth, Lopez‐Capel, Robertson, & Ghazireh, ).…”

Section: Selection and Assessment Of Scs Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterising the biophysical, economic and social impacts of soil carbon sequestration as a greenhouse gas removal technology

Sykes

MacLeod

Eory

et al. 2019

Global Change Biology

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To limit warming to well below 2°C, most scenario projections rely on greenhouse gas removal technologies (GGRTs); one such GGRT uses soil carbon sequestration (SCS) in agricultural land. In addition to their role in mitigating climate change, SCS practices play a role in delivering agroecosystem resilience, climate change adaptability and food security. Environmental heterogeneity and differences in agricultural practices challenge the practical implementation of SCS, and our analysis addresses the associated knowledge gap. Previous assessments have focused on global potentials, but there is a need among policymakers to operationalise SCS. Here, we assess a range of practices already proposed to deliver SCS, and distil these into a subset of specific measures. We provide a multidisciplinary summary of the barriers and potential incentives towards practical implementation of these measures. First, we identify specific practices with potential for both a positive impact on SCS at farm level and an uptake rate compatible with global impact. These focus on: (a) optimising crop primary productivity (e.g. nutrient optimisation, pH management, irrigation); (b) reducing soil disturbance and managing soil physical properties (e.g. improved rotations, minimum till); (c) minimising deliberate removal of C or lateral transport via erosion processes (e.g. support measures, bare fallow reduction); (d) addition of C produced outside the system (e.g. organic manure amendments, biochar addition); (e) provision of additional C inputs within the cropping system (e.g. agroforestry, cover cropping). We then consider economic and non‐cost barriers and incentives for land managers implementing these measures, along with the potential externalised impacts of implementation. This offers a framework and reference point for holistic assessment of the impacts of SCS. Finally, we summarise and discuss the ability of extant scientific approaches to quantify the technical potential and externalities of SCS measures, and the barriers and incentives to their implementation in global agricultural systems.

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Carbonate precipitation in artificial soils produced from basaltic quarry fines and composts: An opportunity for passive carbon sequestration

Cited by 81 publications

References 44 publications

Assessing ocean alkalinity for carbon sequestration

Assessing ocean alkalinity for carbon sequestration

The dissolution of olivine added to soil: Implications for enhanced weathering

Characterising the biophysical, economic and social impacts of soil carbon sequestration as a greenhouse gas removal technology

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