Collaboration to maximise potential of mineralisation to capture CO2

Mineralisation is currently used in Iceland, where captured CO2 is dissolved in water and injected underground into volcanic rock through a pipeline. The reactivity of the basalt rock subsequently transforms the CO2 mixture into new minerals, which are locked underground.

The potential of this technology will be maximised through a better understanding of what controls the reactivity of the volcanic rock and how much CO2 can be locked away.

The £1m INCLUSION project will see researchers from the Edinburgh University’s School of GeoSciences working with Icelandic mineralisation operator, Carbfix and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre to develop an evidence-based framework aimed at optimising the mineralisation process on an industrial scale.

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The project has received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council’s (NERC) Pushing the Frontiers scheme.

According to Edinburgh University, the team will combine 4D x-ray imaging and micro-scale mineral analysis with a new, field-scale CO2 fingerprinting method to track the volume of carbon dioxide captured from Iceland’s largest geothermal power plant and verify its safe and permanent storage underground.