Enhanced Rock Weathering

Exploring potential application of rock byproduct materials to soils for promoting carbon dioxide uptake

Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) is a process that involves crushing silicate-rich rocks to increase available surface area and applying them to soils to increase carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake. Past studies have depended on mining silicate-rich material; however, we aim to investigate quarry byproducts (QBPs) as an alternative applied directly to agricultural soil to promote CO2 uptake and increase soil fertility. Specifically, the goal of this project is to optimize CO2 uptake though different QBP application rates and incorporation methods, without harmful environmental consequences.

Rock quarry source for materials used in lab testing for quantifying carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake rates.

The team:

Mary Foltz – Assistant professor, OSU
Jaime Schussler – Assistant professor, OSU
Deb Mishra – Associate professor, OSU
Shaima Khalifah – PhD student, OSU
Nisha Bhatta – MS student, OSU