Scientists have found a way to synthesize magnesite, a mineral that can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, in the lab, potentially becoming a new weapon in the fight against climate change. While minerals typically take hundreds to thousands of years to form on Earth's surface, the new research has reduced this lengthy natural synthesis process to days, propelling the emerging carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology forward significantly. As the world strives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, experts widely believe that technologies that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will be crucial in curbing global warming. Magnesite, a natural rock used in jewelry and various industrial processes, has carbon-absorbing capabilities, according to the UK's Independent. Each ton of magnesite can remove approximately half a ton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, while past research has explored the possibility of storing carbon dioxide in underground rock formations, the long time required for new mineral formation has hampered the potential of this carbon storage method. \"Minerals take hundreds to thousands of years to form on Earth's surface,\" explained Professor Ian Power of Trent University, the study's lead researcher. To address this issue, Professor Power and his team identified the process by which magnesite naturally forms at low temperatures, using this knowledge to accelerate the crystallization process. They used polystyrene microspheres as a catalyst to reduce the magnesite synthesis time to 72 days. The entire process takes place at room temperature, consuming no excess energy. \"This technology is currently in the experimental stage and needs to be scaled up before it can be applied to carbon sequestration (absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and permanently storing it as magnesite),\" said Bauer. \"It depends on several variables, including carbon prices and advancements in sequestration technology, but we now know it is scientifically feasible.\" CCS technology plays an important role in many carbon reduction plans, but many prominent scientists still believe that such plans are \"overly optimistic.\" Despite these doubts, it is generally believed that the development of CSS technology must go hand in hand with emissions reduction, and the academic community affirms Bauer and his team's breakthrough in the field of CSS. \"The research team explored a phenomenon that has been observed in the past but has not been explained in depth\u2014the process of natural magnesite crystallization at low temperatures,\" said Professor Peter Kelemen, a carbon capture expert at Columbia University, who was not involved in the research. Another expert from the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Gareth Johnson, believes it is a major leap forward. \"For decades, people have been researching mineral-based carbon storage methods, but whether it's carbon capture in power plants or industry, or carbon storage in natural sedimentary rocks, they all eventually encounter energy and economic problems.\" \"Although this research is still in its early stages, it shows the great potential of low-energy-intensity and low-cost magnesite carbon storage,\" Johnson said. Source: Environmental Information Center (2018\/08\/23)<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u79d1\u5b78\u5bb6\u5011\u627e\u5230\u4e00\u7a2e\u65b9\u6cd5\uff0c\u80fd\u5728\u5be6\u9a57\u5ba4\u5408\u6210\u4e00\u7a2e\u53ef\u5438\u6536\u5927\u6c23\u4e2d\u4e8c\u6c27\u5316\u78b3\u7684\u7926\u7269\u83f1\u9382\u7926\uff08magnesite\uff09\uff0c\u6210\u70ba\u56e0\u61c9\u6c23\u5019\u8b8a […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n