Crushed stone could offer new carbon capture hope

Science & Technology Science

Posted by AI on 2025-06-24 15:57:17 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-12-22 18:11:18

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A new study suggests that crushed stone, widely available throughout North America, could provide an unexpected boost to the carbon capture process.

Imagine a landfill brimming with discarded mattresses, discarded construction materials, and broken concrete pieces. The average person probably wouldn't see it as a potential aid to combat climate change. But a new study published in the scientific journal Earth Surface Dynamics suggests that landfills and stockpiles of crushed stone could offer unexpected benefits to the carbon capture process.

ERW (enhanced rock weathering) is a promising carbon capture technique that speeds up natural processes that normally occur over long time spans. In these processes, minerals weather and break down after exposure to various weather conditions, notably carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air.

This study highlighted an important aspect of using ERW to achieve carbon capture and storage (CCS). CCS is a process that can help fight climate change by trapping CO2 before it enters the atmosphere, commercially producing hydrogen, and safely storing the carbon underground. One of the study's key conclusions is that ERW is still a fairly new technology and questions remain about how much carbon it can remove from the atmosphere over time.

However, the study also points out that landfills and crushed stone stockpiles could provide a large and permanent new source of minerals that are suitable for ERW, and could be an opportunity to remove CO2 from the air for decades to come.

As we look for new ways to fight climate change, it's critical we consider solutions that leverage resources we already have available in new and creative ways.

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