Mineral carbonation

Mineral carbonation (or inert mineral storage) is one of the ways of storing CO₂ in a mineral form that does not react, or reacts little, with the atmosphere. This is the case, for example, of storing CO₂ in the form of carbonates.

Principle of mineral carbonation

The principle is to chemically transform CO₂ into an inorganic carbonate using alkaline oxides or alkaline earth metals such as magnesium oxide (MgO) and calcium oxide (CaO). These oxides are found naturally in silicate rocks such as olivine and serpentine.

Advantage of this technique

This form of storage would seem to be the most sustainable and safest, but it is also the most expensive, especially in terms of energy. Currently, this technique is still in the experimental phase.