Researchers at Trent University in Canada have made a discovery which can help a great deal in tackling climate change. They have found a faster way to produce magnesite, a mineral that absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The carbon-capturing ability of Magnesite is exceptional but through a natural process, the mineral takes thousands of years to form. The discovery has reduced the time period in a matter of days.

The world is emphasizing carbon capture and storage technologies to cut down on greenhouse emissions and fight climate change.

Magnesite is a rock which is formed naturally and used mainly in making jewellery and also in industries. One ton of magnesite is capable of capturing half a ton of carbon dioxide.

Professor Ian Power led the team of researchers. “Our work shows two things. Firstly, we have explained how and how fast magnesite forms naturally. This is a process which takes hundreds to thousands of years in nature at Earth’s surface. The second thing we have done is to demonstrate a pathway which speeds this process up dramatically” he said.

According to the research, the use of polystyrene microspheres as catalysts, magnesite can be formed in just 72 days at low temperature accelerating its crystallisation.

“Using microspheres means that we were able to speed up magnesite formation by orders of magnitude. This process takes place at room temperature, meaning that magnesite production is extremely energy efficient” Power said.

If the mineral’s production at industrial scale deemed possible, it would be an efficient way to significantly lower the amount the carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere.

“For now, we recognise that this is an experimental process, and will need to be scaled up before we can be sure that magnesite can be used in carbon sequestration. This depends on several variables, including the price of carbon and the refinement of the sequestration technology, but we now know that the science makes it do-able.”