Use of Mining Dust to Enhance Carbon Capture

A Darjeeling-based company, Alt Carbon, is utilising a geo-chemical process known as enhanced rock weathering to tackle atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2).

About Rock Weathering

Rock weathering is a geo-chemical process where rocks break down into minerals over thousands of years. During this process, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) reacts with minerals like calcium and magnesium, turning into bicarbonates.
These bicarbonates eventually travel through aquifers and settle in the oceans, where the carbon is locked away for aeons.
Natural rock weathering takes a long time—over thousands of years—to remove significant CO2 from the atmosphere.

Enhanced Rock Weathering

It is a process that accelerates the natural weathering of rocks.
Basaltic rock into fine powder increases the surface area of the rock dramatically, enhancing the reaction rate of carbon with minerals.
This enhanced process can capture carbon 10 to 100 times faster than natural weathering, depending on environmental factors like soil, temperature, and proximity to rivers.
The bicarbonates formed from the process can be flushed into oceans within a month.

Carbon Capture

It involves capturing CO2 at emission sources, such as a steel plant, and then transporting and storing it underground.
CCS can also involve removing CO2 directly or indirectly from the atmosphere. It is also known as carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Carbon sequestration

It involves capturing and storing atmospheric CO2 to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and mitigate climate change.
Carbon capture involves capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) at emission sources, while carbon sequestration involves capturing and storing atmospheric CO2.