Excited to have setup my new coulometer for measuring inorganic carbon in solids and waters! #CO2 #UIC #carbon #carbonate
This instrument will be used to study CO2 mineralization in mine wastes and natural systems. The inorganic carbon is measured by reaction with acid and essentially being titrated. Now it's time to get out into the field this summer and do some sampling!
Coulometer from UIC
Had a fantastic opportunity to give a seminar in the Department of Earth Sciences at Western University where I did my B.Sc. and Ph.D. Thanks to Robbie Flemming and Phil McCausland for the invitation and hospitality. The topic of my seminar was "Magnesium carbonates: Deposition, diagnosis, rates and implications for carbon storage.
Present and past Western Earth Sciences mugs.
Seeking applications for three postdoctoral positions in environmental geochemistry/biogeochemistry at Trent University, The University of British Columbia, the University of Alberta. See full advertisement here.
Carbon sequestration is an evolving area in geoscience with the potential for scientific breakthroughs, and one that will become increasingly important as the concentration of atmospheric CO2 rises. This Special Issue of Geoscience aims to advance the science of Carbon Sequestration towards enabling society to make informed decisions on the technical, environmental, economic, and social merits of carbon sequestration strategies. We invite contributions that discuss fundamental processes and emerging strategies, field, laboratory, and modelling studies. Guest editors: Ian Power (Trent University) and Anna Harrison (University College London).
Published in Crystal Growth & Design, we demonstrate the formation of magnesite at room temperature using carboxylated polystyrene spheres. Scaling this process has implications for sequestering carbon dioxide at Earth surface conditions.
Magnesite crystal on carboxylated polystyrene sphere sequestering carbon dioxide.
Great new manuscript published by Lin, Zheng, Ye and Power in Carbonates & Evaporites. This study documents the hydromagnesite deposits from Dujiali Lake, central Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its trace and rare earth element geochemistry.
Dujiali Lake, central Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, China.
Image of microfluidics experiment showing mineral-rich and -poor zones that impact geochemical reactions.
Harrison et al. publishes "Changes in mineral reactivity driven by pore fluid mobility in partially wetted porous media" in Chemical Geology (2017). This innovative study led by Anna Harrison explores mineral reactivity at the pore-scale using microfluidics experiments.
Excited to announce that I'll be starting as an Assistant Professor in Environmental Geosciences at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario beginning June 1st.
Hydromagnesite plates amongst magnesium oxychloride cement crystals.
Assessing the carbon sequestration potential of magnesium oxychloride cement building materials
Magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC) boards have the potential to offset carbon emissions through mineral carbonation, a process whereby carbon dioxide (CO2) is converted to carbonate minerals. Boards (0-15 years old) contained MOC phase 5 (21-50 wt.%), brucite, primary (e.g., magnesite) and secondary (hydromagnesite and chlorartinite) carbonate minerals. Quantitative mineralogy, electron microscopy and carbon abundance data demonstrate that secondary carbonates form through the reactions of MOC and brucite with CO2 within interfacial water layers after board manufacturing. Stable carbon isotopic data confirmed the source of sequestered CO2 as being the atmosphere. Carbonation rates were approximately 0.07 kg CO2/m2 board/year or 9 kg CO2/t board/year over 15 years, offsetting ~20-40% of estimated carbon emissions. In experiments using 10% and 100% CO2 gas, carbonation was accelerated by approximately 400 and 1600 times in comparison to the passive rate. Integration of carbonation reactions into MOC board production could provide significant carbon offsets.