The mineralisation of CO₂ is a concept where CO₂ is reacted with selected minerals to form a solid product. At first glance CO₂ use through mineral reaction or mineralisation could be considered advantageous to CO₂ storage: mineral carbonation offers the permanent storage of CO₂ in usable and saleable products, while forgoing the need for CO₂ pipelines and geological storage sites. However, CO₂ mineralisation has some significant drawbacks that must be taken into account when assessing the technology’s potential to reduce CO₂ emissions at necessary scale.

Of key concern are: scalability, large scale material handling, mining and landfilling (of both feedstock and output) and resulting life-cycle emissions, which are not yet well understood. Bellona sees a real danger in CO₂ mineralisation – as with CO₂ Capture and Utilisation (CCU) in general – becoming a distraction from the task at hand: reducing CO₂ emissions.

While addressing these issues in more detail, this brief also outlines a case study with mineralisation with the naturally occurring and abundant mineral olivine. The case study measures the amount for feedstock needed to sequester a given amount of CO₂, the CO₂ sequestered in the resulting mineral, as well as the amount of mineral output and implications of undertaking this process.

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