In the US, they found a way to reduce the level of environmental pollution with the help of stones. Scientists from Columbia University conducted an experiment and found that certain types of solid rock can help humanity avoid a climate catastrophe.
During the weathering of rocks, carbon mineralization occurs – a chemical reaction during which carbon from carbon dioxide is absorbed by the mineral. Thus, stones are able to store environmentally harmful carbon for several thousand years. It was believed that the ability of rocks to contain carbon is very limited, because in the process of mineralization, the pores in the stone close, which further prevents carbon dioxide from getting inside. However, a new study has shown that in some types of rocks, crystals form during mineralization, which expand the stone and contribute to the appearance of new cracks – an example of such a rock is olivine. Due to this, the mineral can absorb much more carbon.
“Now we hope to find a way to optimize this process in order to launch several test projects,” said Columbia University geologist Catalina Sanchez-Roa. An alternative to trapping carbon in rocks is underground tanks, which are filled with gaseous or dissolved carbon dioxide, she says. The disadvantage of such tanks is that leakage can occur. At the same time, mineralized carbon is stably stored in solid form for a very long time and cannot be released back into the atmosphere.
In 2021, the amount of carbon dioxide in the air reached an all-time high. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Center for Oceanic and Land Surveys in San Diego, 419 air particles in a million are carbon dioxide.
