Research team

Unravelling soil secrets: exploring organic and inorganic carbon interactions in enhanced weathering. 01/11/2024 - 31/10/2026

Abstract

This proposal aims to deepen our understanding of the carbon sequestration potential of enhanced weathering (EW), a promising carbon dioxide removal technology. The project addresses a critical gap in EW research by integrating organic carbon cycles into a geochemical modelling tool to unravel the organic-inorganic interactions in soil systems amended with EW. Specific objectives to reach this goal are: (i) integrating essential soil organic carbon (SOC) processes into the PHREEQC model to enable simulation of EW effects on SOC turnover and stabilisation; (ii) incorporating EW-plant interactions to assess their influence; (iii) including the synergistic effects of EW and biochar (BC) to further explore inorganic-organic interactions and to quantify potential synergies of EW and BC for carbon sequestration. The anticipated outcomes of this research project include the development of an EW model written in the PHREEQC 1D-reactive transport model including EW-SOC interactions induced by weathering and influencing weathering. Moreover, insights into plant-EW interactions are expected to be given by the development of a model that simulates these interactions. Additionally, the project attempts to generate a PHREEQC module that integrates geochemical reactions catalysed by a combined BC-EW amendment.

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Research team(s)

Project type(s)

  • Research Project