The DOI matches its Crossref record; 43 of the 43 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Potential and costs of carbon dioxide removal by enhanced weathering of rocks
Open accessAbstract
The chemical weathering of rocks currently absorbs about 1.1 Gt CO 2 a −1 being mainly stored as bicarbonate in the ocean. An enhancement of this slow natural process could remove substantial amounts of CO 2 from the atmosphere, aiming to offset some unavoidable anthropogenic emissions in order to comply with the Paris Agreement, while at the same time it may decrease ocean acidification. We provide the first comprehensive assessment of economic costs, energy requirements, technical parameterization, and global and regional carbon removal potential. The crucial parameters defining this potential are the grain size and weathering rates. The main uncertainties about the potential relate to weathering rates and rock mass that can be integrated into the soil. The discussed results do not specifically address the enhancement of weathering through microbial processes, feedback of geogenic nutrient release, and bioturbation. We do not only assess dunite rock, predominantly bearing olivine (in the form of forsterite) as the mineral that has been previously proposed to be best suited for carbon removal, but focus also on basaltic rock to minimize potential negative side effects. Our results show that enhanced weathering is an option for carbon dioxide removal that could be competitive already at 60 US $ t −1 CO 2 removed for dunite, but only at 200 US $ t −1 CO 2 removed for basalt. The potential carbon removal on cropland areas could be as large as 95 Gt CO 2 a −1 for dunite and 4.9 Gt CO 2 a −1 for basalt. The best suited locations are warm and humid areas, particularly in India, Brazil, South-East Asia and China, where almost 75% of the global potential can be realized. This work presents a techno-economic assessment framework, which also allows for the incorporation of further processes.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Furthermore, the investigation highlighted the dimensions that influence removal potential and cost, mainly being rock grain size and weathering rates.”
From Strategies for mitigation of climate change: a review (2020) · cites this paper as Strefler et al. 2018
In the citing paper
“The results are inline and support the estimates presented by Fuss et al. in terms of removal potential as well as costs.”
From Strategies for mitigation of climate change: a review (2020) · cites this paper as Strefler et al. 2018
In the citing paper
“Finally, the study indicated that climates that are warm and humid with lands that lack sufficient nutrients are the most appropriate areas for enhanced weathering activities (Strefler et al. 2018).”
From Strategies for mitigation of climate change: a review (2020) · cites this paper as Strefler et al. 2018
In the citing paper
“Rock grinding to reduce particle size and maximise CDR is the primary energy consuming operation in ERW 22,23,73 .”
From Potential for large-scale CO2 removal via enhanced rock weathering with croplands (2020) · cites this paper as [22]
In the citing paper
“For the USA, mining cost is 6.99 $ t -1 as obtained from prior analysis 22 .”
From Potential for large-scale CO2 removal via enhanced rock weathering with croplands (2020) · cites this paper as [22]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Farming the planet: 1. Geographic distribution of global agricultural lands in the year 2000
Ramankutty, N., Evan, A. T., Monfreda, C., & Foley, J. A. (2008) · Global Biogeochemical Cycles · doi:10.1029/2007gb002952 · Cited by 1,942
Biophysical and economic limits to negative CO2 emissions
Smith, P., Davis, S. J., Creutzig, F., Fuss, S., Minx, J., Gabrielle, B., Kato, E., Jackson, R. B., Cowie, A., Kriegler, E., et al. (2016) · Nature Climate Change · doi:10.1038/nclimate2870 · Cited by 1,440
Self-citationWhite, A. F., & Brantley, S. L. (2003) · Chemical Geology · doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2003.03.001 · Cited by 1,196
Basalt weathering laws and the impact of basalt weathering on the global carbon cycle
Dessert, C., Dupré, B., Gaillardet, J., François, L., & Allègre, C. J. (2003) · Chemical Geology · doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2002.10.001 · Cited by 999
Energy system transformations for limiting end-of-century warming to below 1.5 °C
Rogelj, J., Luderer, G., Pietzcker, R. C., Kriegler, E., Schaeffer, M., Krey, V., & Riahi, K. (2015) · Nature Climate Change · doi:10.1038/nclimate2572 · Cited by 875
Self-citationEdenhofer, O. (2015) · Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change eBooks · Cited by 835
Kinetics of Water-Rock Interaction
Brantley, S. L., White, A. F., & Kubicki, J. D. (2007) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-0-387-73563-4 · Cited by 745
Hartmann, J., West, A. J., Renforth, P., Köhler, P., De La Rocha, C. L., Wolf‐Gladrow, D. A., Dürr, H. H., & Scheffran, J. (2013) · Reviews of Geophysics · doi:10.1002/rog.20004 · Cited by 717
Self-citationHydrologic Regulation of Chemical Weathering and the Geologic Carbon Cycle
Maher, K., & Chamberlain, C. P. (2014) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1250770 · Cited by 652
Shared Socio-Economic Pathways of the Energy Sector – Quantifying the Narratives
Bauer, N., Calvin, K., Emmerling, J., Fricko, O., Fujimori, S., Hilaire, J., Eom, J., Krey, V., Kriegler, E., Mouratiadou, I., et al. (2017) · Global Environmental Change · doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2016.07.006 · Cited by 417
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 4
- Ciais P ed Stocker T F, 2013, Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- Garrels R M, 1976, Am. Sci., 64, 306
- Brown T J, 2010, Underground Mining of Aggregates
- ©OECD/IEA, 2015, Coal Information
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 301–373 of 373
Morrow, D. R., Apeaning, R. W., & Guard, G. (2022) · Geoscientific model development · doi:10.5194/gmd-2022-125-rc2
Geochemical Negative Emission Technologies
Hawrot, O., Campbell, J. S., Buckingham, F., & Renforth, P. (2022) · Royal Society of Chemistry eBooks · doi:10.1039/9781839165245-00138
Morrow, D. R. (2022) · Geoscientific model development · doi:10.5194/gmd-2022-125-ac1
LePoire, D. J. (2022) · World-systems evolution and global futures · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-16470-5_11
Satterfield, T. A., Nawaz, S., & Boettcher, M. (2023) · State of the Planet · doi:10.5194/sp-2023-3-rc2
Satterfield, T. A., Nawaz, S., & Boettcher, M. (2023) · State of the Planet · doi:10.5194/sp-2023-3-rc1
Eisaman, M., Geilert, S., Renforth, P., et al. (2023) · State of the Planet · doi:10.5194/sp-2023-1-rc1
Riebesell, U., Basso, D., Geilert, S., et al. (2023) · State of the Planet · doi:10.5194/sp-2023-11-cc3
Renforth, P. (2023) · State of the Planet · doi:10.5194/sp-2023-1-ac1
Eisaman, M. D., Geilert, S., Renforth, P., et al. (2023) · State of the Planet · doi:10.5194/sp-2023-1-rc2
Satterfield, T. A. (2023) · State of the Planet · doi:10.5194/sp-2023-3-ac2
Satterfield, T. A. (2023) · State of the Planet · doi:10.5194/sp-2023-3-ac1
Renforth, P. (2023) · State of the Planet · doi:10.5194/sp-2023-1-ac2
Renforth, P. (2023) · State of the Planet · doi:10.5194/sp-2023-1-ac3
A Comprehensive Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Removal Options for GermanyPreprint
Borchers, M., Förster, J., Thrän, D., Beck, S., Thoni, T., Korte, K., Gawel, E., Markus, T., Schaller, R., Rhoden, I., et al. (2023) · doi:10.22541/essoar.170110442.26802720/v1
Kanzaki, Y. (2024) · Geoscientific model development · doi:10.5194/gmd-2023-137-ac2
Kapitel 5. Mitigation des Klimawandels
Kraxner, F., Zollitsch, W. J., Kottusch, C., Bruckman, V. J., Glatzel, S., Hood-Nowotny, R. C., Jandl, R., Lindenthal, T., Schmid, C., Theurl, M. C., et al. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-67864-0_7 · Cited by 3
Threefold CO2 Removal for a Cleaner Tomorrow
Brown, T., Champagne, E., Harrison, C., Hunt, F., Kimber, K., & Wootan, M. (2024) · Waste-management Education Research Conference (WERC) · doi:10.1109/werc62138.2024.10570058
Wang, Z. (2024) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4907192
Viana, J. H. M., & CLEMENTE, E. D. P. (2024) · doi:10.5151/2594-5327-40657
张, 敏. (2024) · Advances in Marine Sciences · doi:10.12677/ams.2024.114017
Enhanced Rock Weathering in Acid Mine Drainage: Carbon Removal Potential and Co-benefitsPreprint
Hkaung, H. S., Yamashita, N., Kimotsuki, N., Nakamura, F., Chikanda, F., Kikuchi, R., Ohtomo, Y., Otake, T., & Sato, T. (2024) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-5436312/v1
LePoire, D. J. (2024) · World-systems evolution and global futures · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-67587-4_3
Hitomi, E. T. O., Shotaro, M. O. R. I., Saito, H., et al. (2024) · Japanese Journal of JSCE · doi:10.2208/jscejj.24-27001
Taksavasu, T. (2025) · Geosciences · doi:10.3390/geosciences15030089
“Ultramafic and mafic rocks, mine tailings, and industrial waste with high contents of divalent cations and/or alkali elements have certainly been considered potential materials for ERW [26,48,49,54,57–60].”
Negative emissions pose trade-offs among human health, planetary boundaries and mineral resourcesPreprint
Cobo, S., Galán‐Martín, Á., & Guillén‐Gosálbez, G. (2025) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-6403773/v1
Bohn, F. J., Arnold, U., Bucak, Ö., Frank, E., Schrafstetter, L., & Kuse, K. (2025) · Environmental Research Letters · doi:10.1088/1748-9326/addfed · Cited by 2
“The measured surface area of the powder is 2.4 m 2 per gram is six times greater than that normally reported in recent ERW studies for basalt, which traps 300 g CO 2eq per kg and has a specific surface area of 0.5 m 2 per gram in average [41].”
InfluentialHee, N. V., Tendeloo, M. V., Vasilakou, K., Niron, H., Struyf, E., Hartmann, J., Vicca, S., Nimmegeers, P., & Vlaeminck, S. E. (2025) · International journal of greenhouse gas control · doi:10.1016/j.ijggc.2025.104412
Self-citationNegative emissions will challenge global resource supply and environmental limitsPreprint
Cobo, S., Galán‐Martín, Á., & Guillén‐Gosálbez, G. (2025) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-6403773/v2
Optimisation of Enhance Weathering Network with Various Crushed Mineral Rock Sizes
Sia, E. J. H., Tan, Y. L., & Tiong, A. N. T. (2025) · Lecture notes in mechanical engineering · doi:10.1007/978-981-96-5059-0_19
Geoengineering the ocean to fight climate change raises serious environmental justice questions
Klinsky, S., & Satterfield, T. A. (2022) · doi:10.64628/aai.gtqkhn3mg
An open-source dynamic model for direct air capture of carbon dioxide using solid sorbents
Kalfati, M. S., & Abdulla, A. (2025) · Carbon Capture Science & Technology · doi:10.1016/j.ccst.2025.100516 · Cited by 1
Pokharel, R., Wu, G., Kraal, P., Griffioen, J., Dijkstra, J. J., Reichart, G., & King, H. E. (2025) · International journal of greenhouse gas control · doi:10.1016/j.ijggc.2025.104522
Wang, B., & You, F. (2025) · Environmental Research Letters · doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ae1cd4
“The CDR rate of ERW can be calculated based on the kinetics model reported by Beerling et al and Strefler et al [25, 27].”
InfluentialThe scalability and carbon removal potential of ocean alkalinity enhancementPreprint
Mack, C., Hanna, R., Dias, D. F., & Victor, D. G. (2025) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-7956805/v1
Research on the Ecological and Environmental Effects of Enhanced Carbonate Weathering Strategies
ZHANG, Y., Sibo, Z. E. N. G., Liu, Z., Shi, L., & Shao, M. (2025) · EARTH AND ENVIRONMENT · doi:10.3724/ee.1672-9250.2026.54.004
Reis, B. R., Vasconcelos, A. L. S., Silva, A. M. M., Andreote, F. D., & de Azevedo, A. C. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26714059
Reis, B. R., Vasconcelos, A. L. S., Silva, A. M. M., Andreote, F. D., & de Azevedo, A. C. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26714056
Indirect carbon emissions of enhanced weathering in Malaysia
Aviso, K. B., Foo, D. C. Y., Gue, I. H. V., Migo-Sumagang, M. V., Tan, R. R., & Tan, Y. L. (2026) · Carbon Footprints · doi:10.20517/cf.2025.54
Urban Green Roofs for CO2 Removal via Enhanced Rock Weathering in EuropePreprint
Bullock, L. A., Pokharel, R., Lewis, A., Laarhuis, P.-P., van der Luijt, R., Mendez, M. Q. R., Fuss, S., & Benavente, D. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.6138381
Carbon dioxide removal by enhanced weathering on American green clay tennis courts
Pavia, F. J., & Lambert, J. E. (2026) · Applied Geochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2026.106737
Potential of Soil Remineralization to Carbon Dioxide Removal in Agricultural Soils
de Azevedo, A. C. (2026) · Frontier studies in soil science · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-14656-4_5
Cravo, A., Correia, C., Lübbers, J., Schönfeld, J., & Mendes, I. (2026) · Marine Environmental Research · doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2026.107986
Rock Weathering in the Earth System
Zhang, S., Sun, X., Li, S., & Isson, T. T. (2026) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-15748-6.00054-x
Revising emissions and climate scenarios with a compact Earth system model
Quilcaille, Y. (2018) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/0fa41a60z61a5z49dbzaf15z6240b4c0e438
Evaluation of rock resources for carbon dioxide removal by enhanced weathering: A South China case
Qi, S., & Jian, X. (2026) · Applied Geochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2026.106812 · Cited by 1
Assessment of climate change mitigation options
Gaucher, Y. (2024) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/2350cf9dze74az43ebz99bdzdb1c28d97d96
Accelerating weathering, lessons from a century of soil rejuvenation
Minasny, B., & Dupla, X. (2026) · Frontiers in Climate · doi:10.3389/fclim.2026.1824420
Large-Scale Carbon Removal Will Create Public Health, Economic, and Climate Trade-Offs
Javadi, P., O’Rourke, P. E., Fuhrman, J., Loughlin, D. H., Doney, S. C., Shobe, W., Ferreira, J., & Clarens, A. F. (2026) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.5c17950
Cobo, S., & Guillén‐Gosálbez, G. (2026) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.6c08993
Odrzygóźdź, O., Malafeevskiy, N., Sogn, T. A., Lode, S., & Aasly, K. (2026) · Applied Geochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2026.106952
Criticality analysis in carbon dioxide removal process network using P-graph
Benjamin, M. F. D., & Tan, R. R. (2026) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-21721-0.00008-9
Multifootprint optimization of integrated negative emissions technology portfolios
Migo-Sumagang, M. V. (2026) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-21721-0.00012-0
贾, 容. (2026) · Hans Journal of Soil Science · doi:10.12677/hjss.2026.143013
Moustafa, N., Nishikawa, E., van Dam, K. H., Morris, J., Paltsev, S., Bui, M., McCoy, S., & Dowell, N. M. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.7076303
Belotti, G., Branigan, D., Caggiano, H., & Nawaz, S. (2026) · Carbon Management · doi:10.1080/17583004.2026.2694126 · Cited by 1
Lahteenmäki‐Uutela, A., Judl, J., Silander, J., Lavikko, S., Mäkelä, T., Löscher, C. R., Riebesell, U., Latvala, M., & Spilling, K. (2026) · iScience · doi:10.1016/j.isci.2026.116928 · Cited by 1
“7,8 On land, such human intervention is termed enhanced weathering.”
Boettcher, J., & Maier, M. (2026) · Handbuch der Bodenkunde · doi:10.1002/9783527678495.hbbk2026001
McDonnell, T. C., Coughlin, J. G., Clark, C. M., Taylor, L., & Driscoll, C. T. (2026) · Frontiers in Climate · doi:10.3389/fclim.2026.1855001
Rustandi, R. A., Kitagawa, N., Imai, S., Akhmetov, A., Kurahashi, M., Okajima, K., Akimoto, Y., Kikuno, H., Utsumi, Y., Seki, M., et al. (2026) · Cleaner Environmental Systems · doi:10.1016/j.cesys.2026.100494
Critical zone processes limit alkalinity export from natural basaltic systems
Derry, L. A., Maher, K., & Chadwick, O. A. (2026) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10936-3 · Cited by 1
“In EW studies, it is often assumed that grinding basaltic feedstock before application will lead to dissolution kinetics that are consistent with laboratory-derived kinetic rate laws for silicate hydrolysis 9 .”
Foteinis, S., Campbell, J. S., Madankan, M., Bullock, L. A., Valenzuela, J. M., Lezaun, J., van der Spek, M. W., & Renforth, P. (2026) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2026.149298
Shiligireddy, K. K. R., Upendra, B., Krishnan, K. A., Gupta, H., Reddy, D. V., & Kumar, D. (2026) · International journal of greenhouse gas control · doi:10.1016/j.ijggc.2026.104799
Multiple lines of evidence reveal rapid, seasonal watershed responses to enhanced weathering
Sun, F., Rioux, R. A., Suhrhoff, T. J., Tatge, W. S., Kalderon-Asael, B., Zacharias, Q. C., Miller-Brown, W. A., MacDonald, A. A., Garcia, E., Shanley, J. B., et al. (2026) · Nature Water · doi:10.1038/s44221-026-00716-8
Plants, silicon, and climate change
Hodson, M. J., Cooke, J., de Tombeur, F., & Schaller, J. (2026) · doi:10.1093/9780197766552.003.0012
Enhanced rock weathering opportunity in Ghana: a scenario-dependent reconnaissance framework
Sokama‐Neuyam, Y. A. (2026) · Frontiers in Climate · doi:10.3389/fclim.2026.1967900
Rateau, R., Magee, R., McDermott, F., & Bryson, M. (2026) · Applied Geochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2026.107133
Enhanced weathering for CO2 removal from a global perspective
Ruan, L., Li, J., Song, Z., Liu, C., Yu, C., Han, G., Li, Z., Sun, X., Peng, B., Teng, H. H., et al. (2026) · Carbon Research · doi:10.1007/s44246-026-00282-4
“Previous studies have shown that it is more effective to choose areas with good hydrothermal conditions to carry out EW, such as India, Brazil, Southeast Asia and China (Strefler et al. 2018; Kantola et al. 2017).”
Combining enhanced basalt weathering with soda saline soil: A novel CO₂ mineralisation strategy
Cong, L., Lu, S., Jiang, P., & Lü, X. (2026) · Journal of CO2 Utilization · doi:10.1016/j.jcou.2026.103606
Rizzi, M., Chang, E., & Pallud, C. E. (2026) · Frontiers in Climate · doi:10.3389/fclim.2026.1964775
Metadata
- Authors
- Strefler, J., Amann, T., Bauer, N., Kriegler, E., & Hartmann, J.
- Affiliations
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (DE)
- Universität Hamburg (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Strefler, Jessica
- Amann, Thorben
- Venue
- Environmental Research Letters
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing
- Published
- 2018-03-01
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 034010
- ISSN
- 1748-9326 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2786586833
- Semantic Scholar
- 8ec3fc510d4553891bf8b6995cb1a7fbf850862e
- Cited by
- 372
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 54 · 2025: 60 · 2024: 73 · 2023: 52 · 2022: 49 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 8
- FWCI
- 10.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Environmental Research Letters (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Max Planck Digital Library (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- RENATE (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Publication Database PIK (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- RENATE (cc-by)
- Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (EXC177, SPP 1689 (CEMICS))
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › CO2 Sequestration and Geologic Interactions
- Physical Sciences › Chemical Engineering › Filtration and Separation › Carbon Dioxide Capture Technologies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate Change and Geoengineering
- Keywords
- enhanced weathering, carbon dioxide removal, chemical weathering, dunite, basalt, olivine, forsterite, weathering rates, grain size, techno-economic analysis, energy requirements, cropland, ocean acidification, Paris Agreement
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
