Carbfix
Climate love
Climate love
Wil Sillen
20 w
•
Icelandic company turns CO2 to stone
The CO2 is dissolved in seawater and then pumped into a basaltic rock formation through a network of injection wells. Once in the subsurface, the injected CO2 reacts with the rock to form a stable carbonate mineral, which ensures long-term storage. The timescale of this process surprised scientists at first. In the pilot, 95% of the injected CO2 was mineralized within two years, much faster than previously thought.

How it works
Carbonated water is acidic. The more carbon you can put in water, the more acidic the liquid becomes. Carbfix's carbonated water reacts with underground rocks and releases available cations such as calcium, magnesium and iron into the water stream. Over time, these elements combine with the dissolved CO2 to form carbonates that fill the empty space (pores) in the rocks. The carbonates are stable for thousands of years and can thus be considered permanently stored.

The injected carbonated water is denser than the surrounding water in the geological formation and therefore tends to sink after being injected. This differs from other carbon capture and storage methods, which rely on capstone to prevent leakage of gaseous CO2.

The method does not work with all rock types, but it does work with basalt, which Iceland is rich in. In addition, young basalt rocks are highly fractured and porous, so that water easily seeps through the interconnecting cracks and voids underground. This simplifies the process.

Where it works
Carbfix has put together a mapping tool that shows the feasibility of applying the Carbfix technology for industries and countries to assess as part of their climate strategy. The global storage potential, according to the company, is greater than the emissions from the combustion of all fossil fuels on earth. It is estimated that Europe could theoretically store at least 4,000 billion tons of CO2 in rocks and the United States at least 7,500 billion tons.


Do you agree?
28 more agrees trigger contact with the recipient
Welcome, let's solve the climate crisis together
Write or agree to climate reviews to make businesses and world leaders act. It’s easy and it works.
Write a climate review
Voice your opinion on how businesses and organizations impact the climate.
Open for Climate Dialogue™
Certified accounts actively looking for your opinion on their climate impact.
125.5k trees planted
One tree is planted for every climate review written to an organization that is Open for Climate Dialogue™.
Download the app
We plant a tree for every new user.
•
20 w
Good fixing of carbs!
•
•
20 w
Woow this is a milestone that will help cut down the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.. kudos
•
20 w
If we don’t stop pollution at its source of burning fuels then we will never catch up on reduction or sequestering.
•
20 w
This one will be good
•
•
20 w
This will be a great contribution towards climate restoration.
•
•
20 w
Could this be a game changer in carbon sequestration?