Stanford University Develops Low-Energy Carbon Capture Technology to Aid Global Decarbonization

A research team at Stanford University has developed an innovative and low-energy method to rapidly capture atmospheric carbon dioxide by heating minerals. This technology enhances the natural weathering process, enabling carbon absorption at an unprecedented rate, and can be integrated with agriculture and industry. It not only helps remove carbon emissions but also improves crop growth and soil health.

Breakthrough Carbon Capture Technology: Low-Cost, High-Performance

Led by Matthew Kanan, Professor of Chemistry in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University, the research team developed an economically viable method to permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The research findings were published in the journal Nature. Their technology involves heat-treating common minerals to transform them into highly reactive materials that can naturally absorb and store carbon dioxide.

Professor Kanan stated, “The Earth has abundant minerals that can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but their natural reaction rates are too slow to offset human greenhouse gas emissions. Our research provides a unique and scalable solution.”

In nature, silicate minerals undergo weathering with water and carbon dioxide to form stable carbonate and bicarbonate ions. However, this process can take hundreds or even thousands of years. Since the 1990s, scientists have been searching for technologies to accelerate weathering and increase the rate at which rocks absorb carbon dioxide.

Yuxuan Chen, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, and Professor Kanan co-developed a new process that transforms slowly weathering silicates into more reactive minerals to rapidly capture and store atmospheric carbon. The development of this technology was also supported by the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.

“We envisioned a new chemical approach to activate inert silicate minerals through a simple ion-exchange reaction, and the results showed it worked even better than we expected,” Dr. Chen said.

Inspired by Cement Manufacturing, Carbon Capture Becomes More Efficient

The inspiration for this technology comes from traditional cement production. The first step in cement manufacturing is to heat limestone to approximately 1,400°C, transforming it into calcium oxide. The Stanford research team adopted a similar method, but instead of mixing it with sand, they combined calcium oxide with magnesium and silicate-containing minerals. After high-temperature treatment, this forms magnesium oxide and calcium silicate, which can rapidly react with acidic carbon dioxide in the air.

Upon contact with carbon dioxide, these minerals react quickly and transform into stable carbonate minerals. Under room temperature conditions, these materials can be completely carbonated in just two hours. In tests closer to real-world environments, humidified samples exposed to air completed carbonation within weeks to months, thousands of times faster than natural weathering.

Applications in Agriculture and Industry, Combining Environmental and Economic Benefits

The potential applications of this technology are wide-ranging. It can not only capture carbon dioxide over large areas of land but also be applied in agriculture to improve soil quality. “Farmers typically use calcium carbonate to regulate soil pH, but our material can not only replace lime but also release silicon, which can be absorbed by crops, increasing yields and resistance,” Professor Kanan explained.

In addition, this technology can be integrated with existing cement production facilities, utilizing industrial kilns to mass-produce reactive minerals, further reducing costs and improving practicality.

Scaling Up: From Laboratory to Global Impact

Currently, the Stanford team’s laboratory can produce about 15 kilograms of material per week. However, to achieve global impact, millions of tons of magnesium oxide and calcium silicate need to be produced annually. The research team plans to use tailings generated by the mining industry as raw materials, such as olivine and serpentine. These minerals are abundant, and the global mining industry generates over 400 million tons of suitable mine tailings annually, providing a potential source for large-scale application. It is estimated that Earth has over ten trillion tons of olivine and serpentine reserves, enough to permanently remove more carbon dioxide than humans emit.

Researchers estimate that even after considering the carbon emissions from furnaces powered by natural gas or biofuels, each ton of reactive material can still remove approximately 1 ton of carbon dioxide. With global fossil fuel emissions projected to exceed 37 billion tons in 2024, this technology, if applied on a large scale, would have a significant impact on mitigating climate change.

Toward a Carbon-Free Future: Developing Electric Furnace Technology

To further reduce the carbon footprint, Professor Kanan is collaborating with Jonathan Fan, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford, to develop furnaces powered by electricity rather than burning fossil fuels. “People currently know how to produce billions of tons of cement per year, and cement kilns can operate for decades,” Professor Kanan said. “If we leverage that knowledge and design, then there’s a clear path from our lab discovery to large-scale carbon removal.”

Successful industrial-scale implementation would represent a major breakthrough in combating climate change, helping humanity move towards a more sustainable future.

Reference

• Stanford University Discovers Low-Cost Method to Turn Common Rocks into Carbon-Capturing Powerhouses
• Stanford Scientists Just Found a Faster, Cheaper Way to Store Carbon Permanently
• Yuxuan Chen, Matthew W. Kanan (2025).Thermal Ca²⁺/Mg²⁺ exchange reactions to synthesize CO₂ removal materials, Nature, 638, p972–979. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08499-2

（Source of the first picture: Bill Rivard / Precourt Institute for Energy）

We offer customized adjustments to the grinding process, tailored to meet processing requirements for maximum efficiency.

Feel free to contact us and we will have specialist available to answer your questions.

If you need customized quotations, you’re also welcome to contact us.

Customer Service Hours: Monday to Friday 09:00~18:00 (GMT+8)

Phone: +8867 223 1058

If you have a subject that you want to know or a phone call that is not clear, you are welcome to send a private message to Facebook~~

Honway Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/honwaygroup

You may be interested in…