{"id":677025,"date":"2025-06-24T15:50:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T12:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-crushed-stone-could-help-fight-climate-change\/"},"modified":"2025-06-24T15:50:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T12:50:18","slug":"how-crushed-stone-could-help-fight-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-crushed-stone-could-help-fight-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"How crushed stone could help fight climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a287e587ddb2\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a287e587ddb2\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-crushed-stone-could-help-fight-climate-change\/#What_is_ERW\" >What is ERW?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-crushed-stone-could-help-fight-climate-change\/#How_effective_is_ERW\" >How effective is ERW?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-crushed-stone-could-help-fight-climate-change\/#Are_there_other_benefits\" >Are there other benefits?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-crushed-stone-could-help-fight-climate-change\/#What_are_the_risks\" >What are the risks?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-crushed-stone-could-help-fight-climate-change\/#Where_is_ERW_being_done\" >Where is ERW being done?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-crushed-stone-could-help-fight-climate-change\/#What_investor_interest_is_there\" >What investor interest is there?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/indian-labourers-pluck.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/indian-labourers-pluck.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Indian laborers pluck tea leaves at a plantation.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/indian-labourers-pluck.jpg\" alt=\"Indian labourers pluck tea leaves at a plantation\" title=\"Indian laborers pluck tea leaves at a plantation.\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Indian laborers pluck tea leaves at a plantation.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>From sugar plantations in Brazil to tea estates in India, crushed rock is being sprinkled across large stretches of farmland globally in a novel bid to combat climate change.<\/p>\n<p>The technique is called enhanced rock weathering (ERW) and aims to speed up the natural capture and storage of carbon dioxide\u2014a planet-warming greenhouse gas.<\/p>\n<p>It is potentially big business with tech giants, airlines and fast fashion firms lining up to buy carbon credits from ERW projects to &#8220;offset&#8221; or cancel out their own emissions.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_ERW\"><\/span>What is ERW?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>ERW aims to turbocharge a natural geological process called weathering.<\/p>\n<p>Weathering is the breakdown of rocks by carbonic acid, which forms when carbon dioxide in the air or soil dissolves into water.<\/p>\n<p>Weathering occurs naturally when rain falls on rocks, and the process can lock away carbon dioxide from the air or soil as bicarbonate, and eventually limestone.<\/p>\n<p>ERW speeds the process up by using quick-weathering rocks like basalt that are ground finely to increase their surface area.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_effective_is_ERW\"><\/span>How effective is ERW?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>ERW is still a fairly new <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> and there are questions about how much carbon it can remove.<\/p>\n<p>One US study found <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>lying 50 tons of basalt to a hectare of land each year could remove up to 10.5 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare over a four-year period.<\/p>\n<p>But scientists applying basalt to oil palm fields in Malaysia and sugarcane fields in Australia measured much lower removal rates.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Field trials are showing that there have been overestimates of the amount and rate captured,&#8221; said Paul Nelson, a soil scientist at James Cook University who has studied ERW.<\/p>\n<p>Rates depend on variables including rock type and size, how wet and hot the climate is, soil type and land management.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/enhanced-rock-weatheri.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/enhanced-rock-weatheri.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Infographic showing how ERW works to speed up the capture of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/enhanced-rock-weatheri.jpg\" alt=\"Enhanced rock weathering (ERW)\" title=\"Infographic showing how ERW works to speed up the capture of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                Infographic showing how ERW works to speed up the capture of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>And measuring the carbon captured is difficult.<\/p>\n<p>The most popular technique measures &#8220;cations,&#8221; positively charged ions that are released from the rock during weathering.<\/p>\n<p>But those cations are produced regardless of which acid the rock has reacted with.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If there are stronger acids than carbonic, then it will react with those,&#8221; said Nelson, so measurable cations are produced even when carbon dioxide is not captured.<\/p>\n<p>That doesn&#8217;t mean ERW is pointless, said Wolfram Buss, a researcher on carbon dioxide removal at the Australian National University, just that it needs to be carefully calibrated and measured.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There is no doubt that this technique works,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;However, to be sure how much carbon dioxide we actually remove, more funding is required to do fundamental studies.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Are_there_other_benefits\"><\/span>Are there other benefits?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The added rock increases soil alkalinity, which can boost crop growth, soil nutrients and soil formation.<\/p>\n<p>Basalt is both naturally abundant and often available as a byproduct of quarrying, lowering the costs of the process.<\/p>\n<p>Experts note that even if the rock reacts with other acids in the soil, failing to lock away carbon dioxide at that stage, it can still have planetary benefits.<\/p>\n<p>That is because acids in the soil would otherwise eventually wash into rivers and the sea, where acidification leads to the release of carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n<p>If the rock neutralizes that acid in the soil, &#8220;you&#8217;ve prevented carbon dioxide being released from the water into the atmosphere downstream,&#8221; said Nelson.<\/p>\n<p>The scale of those possible &#8220;prevented&#8221; emissions is not yet clear, however.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/a-mechanical-harvester.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/a-mechanical-harvester.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"A mechanical harvester works in a sugar cane plantation in Brazil.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/a-mechanical-harvester.jpg\" alt=\"A mechanical harvester works in a sugar cane plantation in Brazil\" title=\"A mechanical harvester works in a sugar cane plantation in Brazil.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                A mechanical harvester works in a sugar cane plantation in Brazil.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_the_risks\"><\/span>What are the risks?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>ERW is broadly considered safe since it merely speeds up an existing natural process. However, some quick-weathering rocks have high levels of potentially poisonous heavy metals.<\/p>\n<p>Scattering finely ground rock also requires appropriate protective gear for those involved.<\/p>\n<p>But the main risk is that incorrect measurements overestimate captured carbon.<\/p>\n<p>Some projects are already selling carbon credits from ERW. If a company buys an ERW credit to &#8220;offset&#8221; its emissions but the process captures less than projected, it could result in net higher carbon dioxide put into the atmosphere.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ads w-100 my-4 article-main__more bg-light p-3 border\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-3\">\n        Discover the latest in <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a>, tech, and space with over <strong>100,000 subscribers<\/strong> who rely on Phys.org for daily insights.<br \/>\n        Sign up for our <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sciencex.com\/help\/newsletter\/\" target=\"_blank\">free newsletter<\/a> and get updates on breakthroughs,<br \/>\n        innovations, and research that matter\u2014<strong>daily or weekly<\/strong>.\n    <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Where_is_ERW_being_done\"><\/span>Where is ERW being done?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Projects are happening in most parts of the world, including Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, a project in Brazil announced it had delivered the first-ever verified carbon-removal credits from an ERW project.<\/p>\n<p>The process is being used or trialed in agricultural settings from tea plantations in India&#8217;s Darjeeling to US soy and maize fields.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_investor_interest_is_there\"><\/span>What investor interest is there?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>An ERW startup\u2014Mati Carbon, working in India\u2014won the $50 million X Prize for carbon removal projects earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>In December, Google announced what was then the world&#8217;s biggest ERW deal, for 200,000 tons of carbon removal credits, to be delivered by the early 2030s by startup Terradot.<\/p>\n<p>The cost of the deal was not disclosed but a separate agreement by Terradot with a company representing firms including H&amp;M sold 90,000 tons for $27 million.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \u00a9 2025 AFP\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRock on: How crushed stone could help fight climate change (2025, June 24)<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 24 June 2025<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2025-06-stone-climate.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script id=\"facebook-jssdk\" async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/sciencee\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-06-stone-climate.html\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indian laborers pluck tea leaves at a plantation. From sugar plantations in Brazil to tea estates in India, crushed rock is being sprinkled across large stretches of farmland globally in a novel bid to combat climate change. The technique is called enhanced rock weathering (ERW) and aims to speed up the natural capture and storage&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":677026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/indian-labourers-pluck.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-677025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=677025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/677026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}