CarbFix: CO2 mineralisation in basalt
CarbFix: mineralización de CO2 en basalto
- Date
- 2012 · confidence high
- Place
- Hellisheiði geothermal plant, Hveragerði, Iceland
- Credited to
- CarbFix (Reykjavik Energy, University of Iceland, CNRS and Columbia University)
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
The project dissolved CO2 in water and injected it into basalt at 500-800 m in Hellisheiði from 2012, and found that over 95% of the injected CO2 turned into solid carbonates in under two years. It turns the gas into rock rather than leaving it beneath a seal.
The key result (mineralisation in under two years) was published in Science in 2016 (Matter et al.). The concept of CO2 mineralisation in basalt was proposed earlier by Oelkers, Gíslason and colleagues.
What it led to
- the Orca direct-air-capture plant (Climeworks, 2021) with basalt storage
- mineralisation projects in other basaltic rocks (Columbia River, India)
- CO2 storage in reactive rocks