Effects of mineralogy, chemistry and physical properties of basalts on carbon capture potential and plant-nutrient element release via enhanced weathering

Lewis, Amy L.; Sarkar, Binoy; Wade, Peter; Kemp, Simon J.; Hodson, Mark E.; Taylor, Lyla L.; Yeong, Kok Loong; Davies, Kalu; Nelson, Paul N.; Bird, Michael I.; Kantola, I. B.; Masters, Michael D.; DeLucia, Evan H.; Leake, Jonathan R.; Banwart, Steven A.; Beerling, David J.

doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2021.105023

Cited by 69 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…To overcome this, basalt can be applied in a pelletized form to disintegrate again when applied in soils. Avoiding additional grinding of basalt quarry fines, which may not be warranted in terms of additional carbon sequestration gains (Lewis et al, 2021) can also reduce dust formation.…”

Section: Risks Of Basalt Amendment In Alkaline Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced Weathering Using Basalt Rock Powder: Carbon Sequestration, Co-benefits and Risks in a Mesocosm Study With Solanum tuberosum

Vienne¹,

Poblador²,

Portillo‐Estrada³

et al. 2022

Front. Clim.

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Enhanced weathering (EW) of silicate rocks can remove CO2 from the atmosphere, while potentially delivering co-benefits for agriculture (e.g., reduced nitrogen losses, increased yields). However, quantification of inorganic carbon sequestration through EW and potential risks in terms of heavy metal contamination have rarely been assessed. Here, we investigate EW in a mesocosm experiment with Solanum tuberosum growing on alkaline soil. Amendment with 50 t basalt/ha significantly increased alkalinity in soil pore water and in the leachate losses, indicating significant basalt weathering. We did not find a significant change in TIC, which was likely because the duration of the experiment (99 days) was too short for carbonate precipitation to become detectable. A 1D reactive transport model (PHREEQC) predicted 0.77 t CO2/ha sequestered over the 99 days of the experiment and 1.83 and 4.48 t CO2/ha after 1 and 5 years, respectively. Comparison of experimental and modeled cation pore water Mg concentrations at the onset of this experiment showed a factor three underestimation of Mg concentrations by the model and hence indicates an underestimation of modeled CO2 sequestration. Moreover, pore water Ca concentrations were underestimated, indicating that the calcite precipitation rate was overestimated by this model. Importantly, basalt amendment did not negatively affect potato growth and yield (which even tended to increase), despite increased Al availability in this alkaline soil. Soil and pore water Ni increased upon basalt addition, but Ni levels remained below regulatory environmental quality standards and Ni concentrations in leachates and plant tissues did not increase. Last, basalt amendment significantly decreased nitrogen leaching, indicating the potential for EW to provide benefits for agriculture and for the environment.

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Section: Risks Of Basalt Amendment In Alkaline Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhanced Weathering Using Basalt Rock Powder: Carbon Sequestration, Co-benefits and Risks in a Mesocosm Study With Solanum tuberosum

Vienne¹,

Poblador²,

Portillo‐Estrada³

et al. 2022

Front. Clim.

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Section: Composition Of Applied Crushed Rock and Fertilizersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The crushed rock that was applied to the treated catchments was donated by Onika Quarry (owned by Leeka Holdings) in Tawau, Sabah, and its composition is described in detail in Lewis et al (2021). Briefly, the rock is andesitic in composition and is derived from Pleistocene magmatic-arc volcanic deposits (Lewis et al, 2021). The mineralogy is dominated by plagioclase (45 wt%), sanidine feldspar (13 wt%) and diopside (clinopyroxene, 12 wt%) minerals and has a relatively high quartz content (19 wt%).…”

Section: Composition Of Applied Crushed Rock and Fertilizersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantification of CO2 removal in a large-scale enhanced weathering field trial on an oil palm plantation in Sabah, Malaysia

Larkin¹,

Andrews²,

Pearce³

et al. 2022

Front. Clim.

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Modeling studies show that large-scale deployment of enhanced rock weathering on croplands has the potential to reduce levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide by the end of the century. There is, however, a pressing need to verify model predictions through long-term field trials. Here we report results from the first 3 years of an ongoing enhanced weathering field trial, carried out on an oil palm plantation in Sabah, Malaysia. Crushed silicate rock was applied to three hydrologically isolated catchments, and three adjacent (paired) reference catchments were left untreated. The drawdown of atmospheric CO2 was quantified via the export of alkalinity in stream waters and changes in soil carbonate content. The amended and reference catchments were found to have a similar extent of CO2 drawdown via alkalinity export [respectively, 3.8 ± 0.8 (1 SD) and 3.7 ± 0.6 (1 SD) tCO2 ha−1] when all catchments were averaged over the study period (October 2018 to July 2021). However, differences were observed between the different catchment pairs (plots): two of the plots displayed a similar extent of CO2 removal for both the amended and reference catchments, but the third amended catchment had a higher extent of CO2 removal of ~1 tCO2 ha−1 relative to its adjacent reference catchment. The difference in CO2 removal rates determined for this plot can likely be attributed to increased weathering of silicate minerals in the amended catchment. Soil carbonate concentrations were on average <0.2 wt% CaCO3, but we report a small increase of ~0.03 wt% CaCO3 in the top 30 cm of soil in the amended soils relative to the reference catchments. The magnitude of CO2 drawdown via alkalinity export determined for these agricultural catchments is around an order of magnitude higher than in natural forested catchments in Sabah and similar to that of basaltic catchments. We show that these high weathering rates are primarily driven by weathering of carbonate fertilizers. The data presented from this field trial provide vital contextual information on the real-world efficacy and practicalities associated with the implementation of enhanced weathering for atmospheric CO2 removal that will help to inform further trials as well as wider-scale deployment.

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“…Enhanced weathering (EW) is considered one of the most promising carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies to mitigate climate change (Ramos et al, 2022;Gomez-Casanovas et al, 2021;Russell et al, 2012). Many studies, mainly based on laboratory experiments and modeling approaches, demonstrated a great carbon sequestration potential when applied over large scales (Beerling et al, 2020;Cipolla et al, 2021a, b;Renforth et al, 2015;Goll et al, 2021;Lewis et al, 2021). EW consists of enhancing naturally occurring weathering reaction rates by adding highly reactive minerals, such as Ca-Mg silicates, to the soil (Hartmann et al, 2013;Lal et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The reactive transport models summarized by Taylor et al (2017) vary in their degree of complexity, and plant processes may be absent or oversimplified. Lewis et al (2021) present an application of a 1-D reactive transport model to simulate EW carbon sequestration potential and the release of base cations (i.e., Mg 2 +, Ca 2 +, K + and Na + ) that can be beneficial for plants. Like many other reactive transport models, they assume a constant average infiltration rate, thus excluding rainfall variability effects on EW.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of precipitation seasonality, irrigation, vegetation cycle and soil type on enhanced weathering – modeling of cropland case studies across four sites

et al. 2022

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Abstract. Enhanced weathering (EW) is a promising strategy for carbon sequestration, but several open questions remain regarding the actual rates of dissolution in conditions of natural hydroclimatic variability in comparison to laboratory experiments. In this context, models play a pivotal role, as they allow exploring and predicting EW dynamics under different environmental conditions. Here a comprehensive hydro-biogeochemical model has been applied to four cropland case studies (i.e., Sicily and the Padan plain in Italy and California and Iowa in the USA) characterized by different rainfall seasonality, vegetation (i.e., wheat for Sicily and California and corn for the Padan plain and Iowa), and soil type to explore their influence on dissolution rates. The results reveal that rainfall seasonality and irrigation when applied are crucial in determining EW and carbon sequestration dynamics, given their effect on hydrological fluxes, soil pH and weathering rate. The carbon sequestration rate was found to be strongly affected also by the background weathering flux, which is one of the main factors controlling soil pH before the olivine amendment. Regarding the US case studies, Iowa sequesters the greatest amount of CO2 if compared to California (4.20 and 2.21 kg ha−1 yr−1, respectively), and the same happens for Sicily with respect to the Padan plain (0.62 and 0.39 kg ha−1 yr−1, respectively). These low carbon sequestration values suggest that an in-depth analysis at the global scale is required to assess EW efficacy for carbon sequestration.

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Effects of mineralogy, chemistry and physical properties of basalts on carbon capture potential and plant-nutrient element release via enhanced weathering

Cited by 69 publications

References 67 publications

Enhanced Weathering Using Basalt Rock Powder: Carbon Sequestration, Co-benefits and Risks in a Mesocosm Study With Solanum tuberosum

Enhanced Weathering Using Basalt Rock Powder: Carbon Sequestration, Co-benefits and Risks in a Mesocosm Study With Solanum tuberosum

Quantification of CO2 removal in a large-scale enhanced weathering field trial on an oil palm plantation in Sabah, Malaysia

Effects of precipitation seasonality, irrigation, vegetation cycle and soil type on enhanced weathering – modeling of cropland case studies across four sites

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