Making carbon sequestration a paying proposition

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) has increased from a preindustrial concentration of about 280 ppm to about 367 ppm at present. The increase has closely followed the increase in CO₂ emissions from the use of fossil fuels. Global warming caused by increasing amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is the major environmental challenge for the 21st century. Reducing worldwide emissions of CO₂ requires multiple mitigation pathways, including reductions in energy consumption, more efficient use of available energy, the application of renewable energy sources, and sequestration. Sequestration is a major tool for managing carbon emissions. In a majority of cases CO₂ is viewed as waste to be disposed; however, with advanced technology, carbon sequestration can become a value-added proposition. There are a number of potential opportunities that render sequestration economically viable. In this study, we review these most economically promising opportunities and pathways of carbon sequestration, including reforestation, best agricultural production, housing and furniture, enhanced oil recovery, coalbed methane (CBM), and CO₂ hydrates. Many of these terrestrial and geological sequestration opportunities are expected to provide a direct economic benefit over that obtained by merely reducing the atmospheric CO₂ loading. Sequestration opportunities in 11 states of the Southeast and South Central United States are discussed. Among the most promising methods for the region include reforestation and CBM. The annual forest carbon sink in this region is estimated to be 76 Tg C/year, which would amount to an expenditure of $11.1–13.9 billion/year. Best management practices could enhance carbon sequestration by 53.9 Tg C/year, accounting for 9.3% of current total annual regional greenhouse gas emission in the next 20 years. Annual carbon storage in housing, furniture, and other wood products in 1998 was estimated to be 13.9 Tg C in the region. Other sequestration options, including the direct injection of CO₂ in deep saline aquifers, mineralization, and biomineralization, are not expected to lead to direct economic gain. More detailed studies are needed for assessing the ultimate changes to the environment and the associated indirect cost savings for carbon sequestration.     

Analyzing the efficacy of subtropical urban forests in offsetting carbon emissions from cities

Urban forest management and policies have been promoted as a tool to mitigate carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. This study used existing CO₂ reduction measures from subtropical Miami-Dade and Gainesville, USA and modeled carbon storage and sequestration by trees to analyze policies that use urban forests to offset carbon emissions. Field data were analyzed, modeled, and spatially analyzed to compare CO₂ sequestered by managing urban forests to equivalent amounts of CO₂ emitted in both urban areas. Urban forests in Gainesville have greater tree density, store more carbon and present lower per-tree sequestration rates than Miami-Dade as a result of environmental conditions and urbanization patterns. Areas characterized by natural pine-oak forests, mangroves, and stands of highly invasive trees were most apt at sequestering CO₂. Results indicate that urban tree sequestration offsets CO₂ emissions and, relative to total city-wide emissions, is moderately effective at 3.4 percent and 1.8 percent in Gainesville and Miami-Dade, respectively. Moreover, converting available non-treed areas into urban forests would not increase overall CO₂ emission reductions substantially. Current CO₂ sequestration by trees was comparable to implemented CO₂ reduction policies. However, long-term objectives, multiple ecosystem services, costs, community needs, and preservation of existing forests should be considered when managing trees for climate change mitigation and other ecosystem services.     

Fighting sustainability challenges on two fronts: Material efficiency and the emerging carbon capture and storage technologies

Technological and regulatory responses to large-scale environmental threats, such as depletion of the natural resources and climate change, tend to focus on one issue at time. Emerging carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies that are in different stages of development offer a case that demonstrates this dilemma. This article approximates the implications of two emerging CCS applications on existing steel mill’s CO₂ emissions and its use of material resources. The evaluated applications are based on the mineralization method and the comparative case represents two versions of a geological CCS method. The results of the evaluation indicate that if technical bottleneck issues related to CO₂ sequestration with mineralization can be solved, it can be possible to achieve a similar CO₂ reduction performance with mineralization-based CCS applications as with more conventional CCS applications. If the CO₂ capturing potential of mineralization-based applications could be taken into use, it could also enable the significant improvement of material efficiency of industrial operations. Urgent problem hampering the development of mineralization-based CCS applications is that the policy regimes related to CCS especially in the European Union (EU) do not recognize mineralization as a CCS method. Article suggests that the focus in the future evaluations and in policy should not be directed only on CO₂ sequestration capacity of CCS applications. Similarly important is to consider their implications on material efficiency. Article also outlines modifications to the EU’s CCS policy in terms of the formal terminology.     

Interdisciplinary studies on the technical and economic feasibility of deep underground coal gasification with CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> storage in bulgaria

This paper presents the outcome of a feasibility study on underground coal gasification (UCG) combined with direct carbon dioxide (CO₂) capture and storage (CCS) at a selected site in Bulgaria with deep coal seams (>1,200 m). A series of state-of-the-art geological, geo-mechanical, hydrogeological and computational models supported by experimental tests and techno-economical assessments have been developed for the evaluation of UCG-CCS schemes. Research efforts have been focused on the development of site selection requirements for UCG-CCS, estimation of CO₂ storage volumes, review of the practical engineering requirements for developing a commercial UCG-CCS storage site, consideration of drilling and completion issues, and assessments of economic feasibility and environmental impacts of the scheme. In addition, the risks of subsidence and groundwater contamination have been assessed in order to pave the way for a full-scale trial and commercial applications. The current research confirms that cleaner and cheaper energy with reduced emissions can be achieved and the economics are competitive in the future European energy market. However the current research has established that rigorous design and monitor schemes are essential for productivity and safety and the minimisation of the potential environmental impacts. A platform has been established serving to inform policy-makers and aiding strategies devised to alleviate local and global impacts on climate change, while ensuring that energy resources are optimally harnessed.     

Toward a framework of environmental risk management for CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> geological storage in china: gaps and suggestions for future regulations

China encourages the demonstration of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. In an effort to identify gaps and provide suggestions for environmental risk management of carbon dioxide (CO₂) geological storage in China, this article presents a concise overview of potential health, safety and environmental (HSE) risks and environmental management regulations for CO₂ geological storage in Australia, Japan, the United States (USA), the European Union (EU), and the United Kingdom (UK). The environmental impact assessment (EIA) experience of Shenhua Ordos Coal-to-Liquid (CTL) Project and PetroChina Jilin Oil Field enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is subsequently analyzed in light of our field investigation, and gaps in current EIA guidelines that are applicable to CO₂ geological storage projects are identified. It is found that there are no specific environmental risk regulations suitable for CO₂ storage in China, and environmental risk management lags behind the development of CCS technology, which presents a challenge to demonstration enterprises in terms of assessing environmental risk. One major challenge is the overestimation or underestimation of this risk on the part of the enterprise, and another is a lack of applicable regulations for government sectors to supervise the risk throughout CCS projects. Therefore, there is a pressing need for China to formulate environmental management regulations that include environmental risk assessment, mandatory monitoring schemes, environmental emergency plans, and related issues.     

加速碳酸化技术对城市垃圾焚烧飞灰重金属稳定性影响研究

对南方某城市生活垃圾焚烧厂新鲜焚烧飞灰对CO₂的吸收及其碳酸化的过程进行了研究,实验从水分添加量、CO₂的分压等因素,考察了飞灰中重金属Pb的稳定化效果,并利用X射线衍射实验(XRD)、扫描电镜实验(SEM)对反应机理进行了分析.结果表明,不添加水分时,焚烧飞灰对CO₂的吸收效果较差;当水分添加量大于10％时,焚烧飞灰对CO₂的吸收效果较好.焚烧飞灰对纯CO₂的吸收效果较好,空气中的CO₂含量较低,在反应1 d后吸收效果不是十分明显.XRD实验结果表明,CO₂的吸收会使焚烧飞灰中大量的Ca(OH)₂与CO₂反应转化为CaCO₃,从而降低焚烧飞灰的碱性;部分重金属的氧化物会被碳酸化成生相应的碳酸盐.SEM实验结果表明,经过碳酸化处理后的飞灰颗粒表面生成了片状和圆柱状的晶体物质.     

Promising synergies to address water, sequestration, legal, and public acceptance issues associated with large-scale implementation of CO2 sequestration

Stabilization of CO₂ atmospheric concentrations requires practical strategies to address the challenges posed by the continued use of coal for baseload-electricity production. Over the next two decades, CO₂ capture and sequestration (CCS) demonstration projects would need to increase several orders of magnitude across the globe in both size and scale. This task has several potential barriers which will have to be accounted for. These barriers include those that have been known for a number of years including safety of subsurface sequestration, pore-space competition with emerging activities like shale gas production, legal and regulatory frameworks, and public acceptance and technical communication. In addition water management is a new challenge that should be actively and carefully considered across all CCS operations. A review of the new insights gained on these previously and newly identified challenges, since the IPCC special report on CCS, is presented in this paper. While somewhat daunting in scope, some of these challenges can be addressed more easily by recognizing the potential advantageous synergies that can be exploited when these challenges are dealt with in combination. For example, active management of water resources, including brine in deep subsurface formations, can provide the additional cooling-water required by the CO₂ capture retrofitting process while simultaneously reducing sequestration leakage risk and furthering efforts toward public acceptance. This comprehensive assessment indicates that water, sequestration, legal, and public acceptance challenges ought to be researched individually, but must also be examined collectively to exploit the promising synergies identified herein. Exploitation of these synergies provides the best possibilities for successful large-scale implementation of CCS.     

Satellite Remote Sensing of Terrestrial Net Primary Production for the Pan-Arctic Basin and Alaska

We applied a terrestrial net primary production (NPP) model driven by satellite remote sensing observations of vegetation properties and daily surface meteorology from a regional weather forecast model to assess NPP spatial and temporal variability for the pan-Arctic basin and Alaska from 1982 to 2000. Our results show a general decadal trend of increasing NPP for the region of approximately 2.7%, with respective higher (3.4%) and lower (2.2%) rates for North America and Eurasia. NPP is both spatially and temporally dynamic for the region, driven largely by differences in productivity rates among major biomes and temporal changes in photosynthetic canopy structure and spring and summer air temperatures. Mean annual NPP for boreal forests was approximately 3 times greater than for Arctic tundra on a unit area basis and accounted for approximately 55% of total annual carbon sequestration for the region. The timing of growing season onset inferred from regional network measurements of atmospheric CO₂ drawdown in spring was inversely proportional to annual NPP calculations. Our findings indicate that recent regional warming trends in spring and summer and associated advances in the growing season are stimulating net photosynthesis and annual carbon sequestration by vegetation at high latitudes, partially mitigating anthropogenic increases in atmospheric CO₂. These results also imply that regional sequestration and storage of atmospheric CO₂ is being altered, with potentially greater instability and acceleration of the carbon cycle at high latitudes.     

Influence of SO2 in incineration flue gas on the sequestration of CO2 by municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash

The influence of CO2 content and presence of SO2 on the sequestration of CO2 by municipal solid waste incinerator(MSWI) fly ash was studied by investigating the carbonation reaction of MSWI fly ash with different combinations of simulated flue gas.The reaction between fly ash and 100% CO2 was relatively fast;the uptake of CO2 reached 87g CO2/kg ash,and the sequestered CO2 could be entirely released at high temperatures.When CO2 content was reduced to 12%,the reaction rate decreased;the uptake fell to 41g CO2/kg ash,and 70.7% of the sequestered CO2 could be released.With 12% CO2 in the presence of SO2,the reaction rate significantly decreased;the uptake was just 17g CO2/kg ash,and only 52.9% of the sequestered CO2 could be released.SO2 in the simulated gas restricted the ability of fly ash to sequester CO2 because it blocked the pores of the ash.     

深部储层中CO2沿断层泄漏量的影响因素

CGS（CO₂地质储存）是CO₂减排的重要手段之一,天然裂隙的存在则是CGS的潜在风险.CO₂地质储存过程中储层上覆盖层及其浅部含水层是防止CO₂泄漏的天然屏障,为了探究深部咸水层中CO₂沿断层的泄漏过程并获得断层渗透率及储层中超临界CO₂流体初始条件（初始饱和度、初始泄漏压力）对CO₂沿断层泄漏速率和泄漏量的影响程度,依据鄂尔多斯CO₂灌注工程示范区资料,使用多相、多组分溶质运移数值模拟软件TOUGH2建立了2D概念模型.结果表明,深部咸水层中的CO₂在压力差和浓度差的作用下沿断层发生泄漏,到达浅部含水层后开始发生侧向运移,100 a内运移了约200 m的水平距离;由于浮力的作用,CO₂集中在含水层顶板处,有效地防止了CO₂向外泄漏.影响因素分析表明,100 a内断层渗透性能为低渗、中渗和高渗条件时,CO₂累积泄漏量分别为0、1 050和3 000 t;CO₂初始饱和度分别为0.20、0.50和0.99时,CO₂累积泄漏量分别为550、1 050和1 650 t;初始泄漏压力分别为17.3、17.6和18.1 MPa时,CO₂累积泄漏量则分别为900、1 050和1 400 t.除此之外,断层渗透性、CO₂初始气体饱和度和初始泄漏压力对CO₂泄漏的影响还体现在泄漏发生时间和平均泄漏速率上.研究显示,各因素对CO₂沿断层泄漏过程的影响程度表现为断层渗透性能> CO₂初始饱和度> CO₂初始泄漏压力.      

The influence of operational flexibility on the exploitation of CO2 reduction potential in industrial energy production

Energy conservation is a key measure for reducing CO₂ emissions. However, realising the emission reduction potential of an energy conservation investment depends on many factors, such as energy prices. The EU emissions trading scheme has made the investment analysis more complicated and increased the economic value of operational flexibility under fluctuating carbon prices. The different operational options in industrial energy production complicate the estimation of CO₂ reduction potential in the investment phase. Increasing operational flexibility enables optimisation in the economic dimension, which may lead to less than optimum CO₂ reduction. In our case study, which analysed the effects of an energy conservation investment made in the pulp and paper industry, the deviation from the expected emission reduction was around 30% over the period from 2000 to 2007. However, it seems that with high carbon prices, increasing operational flexibility has no significant effect on the carbon emissions. In policy-making, the freedom of action that is made possible by increasing operational flexibility should be taken into account when evaluating the contribution of an individual energy efficiency investment towards meeting the national targets for energy efficiency improvement and CO₂ emission reduction.     

Geological CO2 Storage as a Climate Change Mitigation Option

Carbon dioxide (CO₂₎ capture and storage is increasingly being considered as an important climate change mitigation option. This paper explores provisions for including geological CO₂ storage in climate policy. The storage capacity of Norway's Continental Shelf is alone sufficient to store a large share of European CO₂ emissions for many decades. If CO₂ is injected into oil reservoirs there is an additional benefit in terms of enhanced oil recovery. However, there are significant technical and economic challenges, including the large investment in infrastructure required, with related economies of scale properties. Thus CO₂ capture, transportation and storage projects are likely to be more economically attractive if developed on a large scale, which could mean involving two or more nations. An additional challenge is the risk of future leakages from storage sites, where the government must take on a major responsibility. In institutional and policy terms, important challenges are the unsettled status of geological CO₂ storage as a policy measure in the Kyoto Protocol, lack of relevant reporting and verification procedures, and lack of decisions on how the option should be linked to the flexibility mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol. In terms of competitiveness with expected prices for CO₂ permits under Kyoto Protocol trading, the relatively high costs per tonne of CO₂ stored means that geological CO₂ storage is primarily of interest where enhanced oil recovery is possible. These shortcomings and uncertainties mean that companies and governments today only have weak incentives to venture into geological CO₂ storage.     

Can Advances in Science and Technology Prevent Global Warming?

The most stringent emission scenarios published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) would result in the stabilization of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) at concentrations of approximately 550 ppm which would produce a global temperature increase of at least 2 ^{^}C by 2100. Given the large uncertainties regarding the potential risks associated with this degree of global warming, it would be more prudent to stabilize atmospheric CO₂ concentrations at or below current levels which, in turn, would require more than 20-fold reduction (i.e., ≥95%) in per capita carbon emissions in industrialized nations within the next 50–100 years. Using the Kaya equation as a conceptual framework, this paper examines whether CO₂ mitigation approaches such as energy efficiency improvements, carbon sequestration, and the development of carbon-free energy sources would be sufficient to bring about the required reduction in per capita carbon emissions without creating unforeseen negative impacts elsewhere. In terms of energy efficiency, large improvements (≥5-fold) are in principle possible through aggressive investments in R&D and the removal of market imperfections such as corporate subsidies. However, energy efficiency improvements per se will not result in a reduction in carbon emissions if, as predicted by the IPCC, the size of the global economy expands 12–26-fold by 2100. Terrestrial carbon sequestration via reforestation and improved agricultural soil management has many environmental advantages, but has only limited CO₂ mitigation potential because the global terrestrial carbon sink (ca. 200 Gt C) is small relative to the size of fossil fuel deposits (≥4000 Gt C). By contrast, very large amounts of CO₂ can potentially be removed from the atmosphere via sequestration in geologic formations and oceans, but carbon storage is not permanent and is likely to create many unpredictable environmental consequences. Renewable energy can in theory provide large amounts of carbon-free power. However, biomass and hydroelectric energy can only be marginally expanded, and large-scale solar energy installations (i.e., wind, photovoltaics, and direct thermal) are likely to have significant negative environmental impacts. Expansion of nuclear energy is highly unlikely due to concerns over reactor safety, radioactive waste management, weapons proliferation, and cost. In view of the serious limitations and liabilities of many proposed CO₂ mitigation approaches, it appears that there remain only few no-regrets options such as drastic energy efficiency improvements, extensive terrestrial carbon sequestration, and cautious expansion of renewable energy generation. These promising CO₂ mitigation technologies have the potential to bring about the required 20-fold reduction in per capita carbon emission only if population and economic growth are halted without delay. Therefore, addressing the problem of global warming requires not only technological research and development but also a reexamination of core values that equate material consumption and economic growth with happiness and well- being.     

Emissions and Atmospheric CO2 Stabilization: Long-Term Limits and Paths

The objective of stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations is often envisioned as a monotonic approach to higher constant concentrations. For CO₂ to approach a constant concentration over a finite time, CO₂ emissions must peak and then gradually approach zero over 1,000+ years, regardless of the concentration level. While this intellectual architecture has proved useful, we suggest consideration of a broader range of scenarios, including ones in which net emissions decline to zero over a finite period of time resulting in a maximum CO₂ concentration followed by a long-term decline to a lower level. Carbon cycle model results illustrate these scenarios.     

水环境中化能自养微生物种群及固碳功能研究

化能自养微生物可通过还原性物质的氧化获取化学能以固定无机碳,在缺乏光照的海洋深处、水体沉积物等植物无法生存的环境中固碳,对吸收大气、海洋、湿地中的CO₂具有重要作用。本文基于化能自养微生物的研究现状,概述了其主要固碳途径及参与化能自养固碳的主要微生物类群,着重阐述了化能自养微生物在不同水环境中的固碳功能。同时,本文对水环境中化能自养微生物研究的趋势进行了展望,固碳量的精确计算与化能自养固定的有机碳的存在形式与去向应得到更多研究与探讨,以期增进对碳循环的相关认识。     

生物炭对农田土壤CO2排放的影响研究进展

生物炭是生物质在缺氧或者限氧条件下经热解后产生的富碳产物。目前,生物炭被广泛应用于农业生产领域,可改善土壤质量,提高农田土壤碳汇。生物炭还田后,使土壤物理、化学和生物学等性质发生变化进而影响土壤CO₂的排放。本文从生物炭理化特性、土壤性质以及生物炭稳定性等角度综述生物炭对土壤CO₂排放的影响。主要内容包括不同炭化温度和生物质来源的生物炭特性(pH、比表面积、孔径、挥发分和灰分等)及其对土壤CO₂排放的影响;生物炭还田土壤特性变化及其对土壤CO₂排放的影响;生物炭稳定性及其对土壤CO₂排放的影响。本文基于以上三个方面综述了生物炭对农田土壤CO₂排放的影响,并在此基础上对生物炭的固碳减排效应进行展望,以期为生物炭的合理施用、农田固碳减排等提供基础和参考。     

山东黄河下游流域土壤碳储量及时空变化研究

全球气候变暖及其影响是当前人类面临的重大环境问题之一,大气CO2浓度的剧增为人类生活带来的诸多环境问题越来越严重。土壤有机碳是陆地生态系统碳库的重要组成部分,它的微小变化直接影响大气温室气体的浓度。本文利用2003~2010年多目标区域地球化学调查及20世纪80年代全省第二次土壤普查碳数据,对山东省黄河下游流域土壤碳密度、碳储量及时空变化规律和固碳潜力与机制进行了研究,结果表明,1.0 m土层有机碳库约占我国SOCP的3.28%;表现出"碳汇";水稻土碳密度最高、砂姜黑土次之,滨海盐土最低;研究区0~1.0 m土层固碳潜力为1.02×109t,相当于可减少大气中0.081%CO2浓度。通过相关性分析表明,在土壤中增施有机肥和N、P、K肥,以及施用Zn等矿质肥料可有效提高土壤中的有机碳量,提升土壤固碳能力,而含Cl量过高是滨海土壤固碳的破坏性因素。本研究为缓解大气CO2浓度的剧增的环境压力,发挥和提高我国土壤生态系统的固碳潜力提供了科学依据。     

中国水泥行业通过CCUS技术的减排潜力评估

中国水泥行业面临巨大的碳达峰与碳中和压力.CO₂捕集利用与封存（CCUS）技术是能够实现化石资源低碳利用的碳减排技术.在中国水泥企业数据基础上,采用全流程CCUS系统模型（ITEAM-CCUS）评估CCUS的碳减排潜力对水泥企业碳中和非常重要.模型从源汇匹配距离、捕集率、CCUS技术和技术水平这4个方面设置了10种情景,完成了水泥行业的企业筛选、场地筛选、CCUS技术经济评估和源汇匹配,初步回答了水泥企业结合CCUS的封存场地、减排规模、成本范围和优先项目分布等关键问题.在250 km匹配距离、85%净捕集率、CO₂-EWR技术和当前技术水平情景,44%的水泥企业可以利用CO₂强化地下水开采（CO₂-EWR）技术开展碳减排,累计年碳减排量为6.25亿t,平准化成本为290~1838元·t^-1;具有全流程CO₂-EWR早期示范优势的地区为新疆、内蒙古、宁夏、河南和河北等.水泥企业开展全流程CCUS项目技术可行,可以实现大规模CO₂减排,低成本项目具有早期示范机会.研究结果可为水泥行业低碳发展和CCUS商业化部署提供定量参考.     

Carbon balance of an intensively grazed temperate pasture in two climatically contrasting years

Grazed grasslands occupy 26% of the earth's ice free land surface and are therefore an important component of the global C balance. In New Zealand, pastoral agriculture is the dominant land use and recent research has shown that soils under intensive dairy pastures have lost large amounts of carbon (∼1000 kg C ha⁻¹ y⁻¹) during the past few decades. The objective of this research was to determine the net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) of an intensively grazed dairy pasture in New Zealand. Net ecosystem CO₂ exchange (NEE) was measured using an eddy covariance (EC) system from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2009. Other C imports (feed) and exports (milk, methane, leaching, and harvested biomass) were calculated from farm production data and literature values. During 2008 there was a one in 100 year drought during summer/autumn, which was followed by a very wet winter. There were no prolonged periods of above or below average rainfall or soil moisture in 2009, but temperatures were consistently lower than 2008. The severe summer/autumn drought during 2008 caused a loss of CO₂ to the atmosphere, but annual NEE remained negative (a CO₂ sink, −1610 ± 500 kg C ha⁻¹), because CO₂ lost during the drought was regained during the winter and spring. The site was also a net CO₂ sink during 2009 despite the colder than usual conditions (−2290 ± 500 kg C ha⁻¹). Including C imports and exports in addition to CO₂ exchange revealed that the site was a C sink in both years, with a NECB of 590 ± 560 kg C ha⁻¹ in 2008, and 900 ± 560 kg C ha⁻¹ in 2009. The C sequestration found in this study is in agreement with most other Northern Hemisphere EC studies of grazed pastures on mineral soils, but is not consistent with the large C losses reported for soils under dairy pastures throughout New Zealand. In the current study (like many other EC studies) the influence of climatic conditions and management practices on the annual C balance was only semi-quantitatively assessed. An extended period of EC measurements combined with modelling is required to more accurately quantify the effect of different climatic conditions on the annual C balance, and the influence of different management practices needs to be quantified using specifically designed studies (such as paired EC towers), so that practices which minimise C losses and maximise C sequestration can be identified.     

What is the maximum potential for CO2 sequestration by “stimulated” weathering on the global scale?

Natural chemical weathering of silicate rocks is a significant sink for soil and atmospheric CO₂. Previous work suggested that natural chemical weathering may be stimulated by applying finely ground silicate rocks to agricultural areas or forests [stimulated weathering (SW)]. However, it remained unknown if this technique is practical to sequester globally significant amounts of CO₂ under realistic conditions. Applying first estimates of “normal treatment” amounts from a literature review, we report here a theoretical global maximum potential of 65 10⁶ t sequestered C a⁻¹ if SW would be applied homogenously on all agricultural and forested areas of the world. This is equivalent to 0.9% of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions (reference period 2000–2005). First, however, the assumed application of SW on most of the considered areas is not economically feasible because of logistic issues, and second the net-CO₂ sequestration is expected to amount to only a fraction of consumed CO₂ due to the energy demand of the application itself (currently ~11%). Unless progress in application procedures is provided, the recent realistic maximum net-CO₂-consumption potential is expected to be much smaller than 0.1% of anthropogenic emissions, and the SW would thus not be one of the key techniques to reduce atmospheric CO₂ concentration. However, literature suggests that for some agricultural areas (croplands) and specifically for rice production areas in humid climates, this SW may be a feasible tool to support international efforts to sequester CO₂. SW may be cost effective for those areas if linked to the CO₂-emission certificate trade in the future, and increases in crop production are taken into account.