Rapid CO2 mineralisation into calcite at the CarbFix storage site quantified using calcium isotopes

The engineered removal of atmospheric CO 2 is now considered a key component of mitigating climate warming below 1.5 °C. Mineral carbonation is a potential negative emissions technique that, in the case of Iceland’s CarbFix experiment, precipitates dissolved CO 2 as carbonate minerals in basaltic groundwater settings. Here we use calcium (Ca) isotopes in both pre- and post-CO 2 injection waters to quantify the amount of carbonate precipitated, and hence CO 2 stored. Ca isotope ratios rapidly increase with the pH and calcite saturation state, indicating calcite precipitation. Calculations suggest that up to 93% of dissolved Ca is removed into calcite during certain phases of injection. In total, our results suggest that 165 ± 8.3 t CO 2 were precipitated into calcite, an overall carbon storage efficiency of 72 ± 5%. The success of this approach opens the potential for quantification of similar mineral carbonation efforts where drawdown rates cannot be estimated by other means.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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