Carbon mineralization, in the context of carbon sequestration topics, refers to the suite of geochemical and geomicrobiological processes by which inorganic carbon, typically as dissolved CO₂ or bicarbonate, is transformed into stable carbonate minerals such as calcite, magnesite, or siderite. It proceeds via reactions between CO₂-bearing fluids and metal cations (e.g., Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Fe²⁺) derived from silicate or oxide minerals, often involving dissolution–precipitation mechanisms controlled by pH, alkalinity, temperature, and fluid–rock ratios. Carbon mineralization is studied as a thermodynamically favorable, long-term CO₂ storage pathway in natural and engineered subsurface systems.
Drawing on nature, researchers have developed a method to pump CO2 captured from industrial processes into volcanic rocks for safe and permanent underground storage.
Environment
Sep 4, 2025
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30
Adding crushed calcium carbonate—limestone—to agricultural fields can remove tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year while improving crop yields, a Yale-led study published in Nature Water found.
Ecology
Aug 7, 2025
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291
A new study offers the first direct evidence that deep-dwelling mesopelagic fish, which account for up to 94% of global fish biomass, excrete carbonate minerals at rates comparable to shallow-water species. The findings validate ...
Ecology
Jul 25, 2025
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490
Cheap volcanic rock that languishes in open-cut mines and quarries could transform Australia's farming sector as a natural fertilizer, boosting crop yields and removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Agriculture
Jul 14, 2025
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27
Adding lime to agricultural soils can remove CO2 from the atmosphere, rather than cause CO2 emissions, claims new research.
Ecology
Jul 9, 2025
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310
At more than 470 times the atmospheric concentration of CO₂, a humble soil bacterium does something extraordinary: it turns gas into stone.
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 8, 2025
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220
We are going back 55 million years. That was when Greenland and Norway began to drift apart, causing the Atlantic Ocean to open up. The Earth's crust between them became thinner and thinner, and enormous amounts of lava poured ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 7, 2025
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31
Some species of fig trees store calcium carbonate in their trunks—essentially turning themselves (partially) into stone, new research has found. The team of Kenyan, U.S., Austrian, and Swiss scientists found that the trees ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 7, 2025
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1875
From sugar plantations in Brazil to tea estates in India, crushed rock is being sprinkled across large stretches of farmland globally in a novel bid to combat climate change.
Earth Sciences
Jun 24, 2025
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60
A new study has revealed for the first time that ancient carbon, stored in landscapes for thousands of years or more, can find its way back to the atmosphere as CO₂ is released from the surfaces of rivers.
Earth Sciences
Jun 4, 2025
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30
