174 results for group: journal-article

Mineral-enriched biochar delivers enhanced nutrient recovery and carbon dioxide removal

ABSTRACT: Biochar production via biomass pyrolysis with subsequent burial in soils provides a carbon dioxide removal technology that is ready for implementation, yet uptake requires acceleration; notably, through generation of cost reductions and co-benefits. Here we find that biomass enrichment (doping) with refined minerals, mineral by-products, or ground rocks reduces carbon loss during pyrolysis, lowering carbon dioxide removal costs by 17% to US$ 80–150 t−1 CO2, with 30% savings feasible at higher biomass costs. As a co-benefit, all three additives increase plant-available nutrient levels. Doping with potassium-bearing minerals can ...

Unraveling iron oxides as abiotic catalysts of organic phosphorus recycling in soil and sediment matrices

ABSTRACT: In biogeochemical phosphorus cycling, iron oxide minerals are acknowledged as strong adsorbents of inorganic and organic phosphorus. Dephosphorylation of organic phosphorus is attributed only to biological processes, but iron oxides could also catalyze this reaction. Evidence of this abiotic catalysis has relied on monitoring products in solution, thereby ignoring iron oxides as both catalysts and adsorbents. Here we apply high-resolution mass spectrometry and X-ray absorption spectroscopy to characterize dissolved and particulate phosphorus species, respectively. In soil and sediment samples reacted with ribonucleotides, we uncover the ...

Investigation of an Indian Site with Mafic Rock for Carbon Sequestration

ABSTRACT: The increasing extent of greenhouse gas emissions has necessitated the development of techniques for atmospheric carbon dioxide removal and storage. Various techniques are being explored for carbon storage including geological sequestration. The geological sequestration has various avenues such as depleted oil and gas reservoirs, coal-bed methane reservoirs, and mafic and ultramafic rocks. Different trapping mechanisms are in play in these subsurface storage systems. In these sequestration sites, the mafic and ultramafic rocks are best suited for long-term and effective sequestration as they comprise minerals, conducive for chemical ...

Parana basin basalt powder: A multinutrient soil amendment for enhancing soil chemistry and microbiology

ABSTRACT: This study evaluated the effects of Paran´a Basin basalt powder, a mining byproduct from southern Brazil, on the macro- and micronutrient content of two soil types, Oxisol (OX) and Typic Quartzipsamment (TQ), as well as the metabolic activity of soil microorganisms. Basalt powder doses were determined based on CaO levels required to correct Ca2+ levels in each soil, ranging from 0 to 4 times the recommended amount. Soil samples were collected for analysis after 60 and 170 days of incubation to assess soil attributes. Additionally, a laboratory study examined soil basal respiration (SBR) after 168 days of greenhouse incubation. The ...

Sustainability performance of enhanced weathering across countries

ABSTRACT Enhanced weathering (EW) is a promising negative emission technology involving the application of crushed silicate rocks to croplands for carbon capture. There is limited research about the broad sustainability impacts in rolling out this intervention on a large scale. This research assesses the triple bottom line sustainability of EW in eight top-emitting countries using an extended input-output model. Results indicate that overall sustainability performance of EW is influenced by each country’s environmental and social metrics than the economic. Compared to developed countries (UK, France, Germany, USA), emerging economies (Brazil, ...

Iron Chelation in Soil: Scalable Biotechnology for Accelerating Carbon Dioxide Removal by Enhanced Rock Weathering

ABSTRACT Enhanced rock weathering (EW) is an emerging atmospheric carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategy being scaled up by the commercial sector. Here, we combine multiomics analyses of belowground microbiomes, laboratory-based dissolution studies, and incubation investigations of soils from field EW trials to build the case for manipulating iron chelators in soil to increase EW efficiency and lower costs. Microbial siderophores are high-affinity, highly selective iron (Fe) chelators that enhance the uptake of Fe from soil minerals into cells. Applying RNA-seq metatranscriptomics and shotgun metagenomics to soils and basalt grains from EW field ...

Global agricultural N2O emission reduction strategies deliver climate benefits with minimal impact on stratospheric O3 recovery

ABSTRACT Agricultural nitrous oxide (N2O) emission reduction strategies are required given the potency of N2O as a greenhouse gas. However, the growing influence of N2O on stratospheric ozone (O3) with declining stratospheric chlorine means the wider atmospheric impact of N2O reductions requires investigation. We calculate a N2O emission reduction of 1.35 TgN2O yr-1 (~5% of 2020 emissions) using spatially separate deployment of nitrification inhibitors ($70–113 tCO2e−1) and crushed basalt (no-cost co- benefit) which also sequesters CO2. In Earth System model simulations for 2025–2075 under high (SSP3-7.0) and low (SSP1-2.6) surface ...

The efficacy of enhancing carbonate weathering for carbon dioxide sequestration

ABSTRACT: Enhanced weathering is a geoengineering strategy aiming to increase continental weathering rates, thereby increasing the delivery of atmospheric carbon (as HCO−3) to the oceans. Most enhanced weathering studies focus on the capacity of silicate rocks (e.g., basalt) and minerals (e.g., olivine, Mg2SiO4, or wollastonite CaSiO3) to remove atmospheric CO2. However, carbonate minerals (e.g., calcite, CaCO3) could provide an additional, rapid way to increase HCO−3 export to the oceans. Recent studies suggest that 0.84 Gt C yr−1could be removed from the atmosphere through the enhanced dissolution of calcite in soils, provided carbonic acid ...

Additive effects of basalt enhanced weathering and biochar co-application on carbon sequestration, soil nutrient status and plant performance in a mesocosm experiment

ABSTRACT Co-deployment of a portfolio of carbon removal technologies is anticipated in order to remove several gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and meet climate targets. However, co-application effects between carbon removal technologies have rarely been examined, despite multiple recent perspectives suggesting potential synergies between basalt enhanced weathering and biochar application. To study the co-application effects of basalt for enhanced weathering and biochar on carbon sequestration, along with related co-benefits and risks, we conducted a fully replicated factorial mesocosm experiment with wheat. Basalt applied alone (74 t ...

The potential for carbon dioxide removal by enhanced rock weathering in the tropics: An evaluation of Costa Rica

Abstract Tropical environments show great potential to sequester CO2 by enhanced rock weathering (ERW) of powdered mafic rocks applied to agricultural fields. This study seeks to assess carbon dioxide reduction (CDR) potential in the humid tropics (1) by experimental weathering of mafic rock powders in conditions simulating humid tropical soils, and (2) from weathering rates determined from a Holocene tropical soil chronosequence where parent material is andesitic sediments. Experimentally determined weathering rates by leaching of basaltic andesites from Costa Rica (Arenal and Barva) for 50 t ha−1 applications indicate potential sequestration ...