As of: February 22, 2024, 7:24 p.m
By: Julia Hanigk
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Scientists discovered a new innovation for reducing carbon dioxide.
They identified bacteria that are able to transform CO₂ into rock.
Sanford/Florida – To combat climate change, scientists are constantly looking for new and innovative methods to capture CO₂.
One of the ideas is to store carbon dioxide underground.
A big challenge because it is a gas at room temperature.
America is therefore investing in research into ways to store greenhouse gases in deep caves or rock layers.
A team at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in the USA is now celebrating a breakthrough by discovering microbes that can convert CO₂ gas into rock.
Bacteria are supposed to convert CO₂ gas underground into rock
The biggest difficulty in researching carbon dioxide storage is keeping the gas in the rock layers after pumping it in.
Gokce K. Ustunisik, a professor in the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering at South Dakota Mines, explains in a press release from the research facility: “For example, when a geological fault occurs or when there are pressure changes at the surface after the first pumping, the stored gas is looking for a way out.”
The researchers are therefore looking for rock layers with specific geochemical properties that can dissolve the gas and convert it into a carbonate mineral through the process of “in situ mineralization”.
However, this process takes seven to ten years in nature - too long a period of time.
From ten years to ten days: carbon dioxide can be quickly converted into rock by bacteria
The discovery at the Sanford Underground Research Facility could now significantly speed up this process.
Ten days to be exact.
The team was able to isolate natural microbes that absorb carbon dioxide gas and convert it into solid rock.
This process is called “carbon mineralization.”
This rapid conversion under extreme conditions underground could help more CO₂ to be trapped in storage sites, such as depleted oil and gas reservoirs.
CO₂ conversion from laboratory experiments to extreme underground conditions
Ustunisik describes their approach as follows: “[…] as a first step, developing laboratory experiments to understand optimal conditions such as pressure, temperature, time, acidity and grain size required for mineralization without the help of bacteria.
The conditions had never been investigated before.”
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She continues: “We then tested several microbes that can cope with the conditions underground.
Finally, we tested how quickly mineralization occurs in bacteria by conducting parallel experiments with and without biological activity.
We found that we can store CO₂ by crystallizing the mineral MgCO3 magnesite in just ten days in microbe-bearing experiments." In the end, four species of Geobacillus bacteria were identified that grow thousands of meters underground in water-filled rock crevices and can accelerate the biological conversion process of CO₂ into rock.
After years of research, scientists discovered CO₂-eating bacteria.
(Symbolic image) © Horst Rudel/IMAGO
Years of research in an interdisciplinary team are bearing fruit
Behind these results is not only funding from the National Science Foundation worth $300,000 (approximately €277,930.50), but also years of research by an interdisciplinary team including microbiologists, geochemists and environmental scientists.
“This not only helps with the climate crisis, but also has the potential to spur economic development through microbially accelerated carbon sequestration,” said Bret Lingwall, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Mines.
The find could help reduce the effects of climate change.
The research team has now applied for a patent for their results, which could influence further publications.
(jh)
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