本文转自《Folio》发表的题为“Scientists identify new minerals for carbon capture and storage”的报道。

作者：KATIE WILLIS

日期：2018.12.12

原文链接：Scientists identify new minerals for carbon capture and storage

Economic geologists show hydrotalcites are capable of carbon sequestration beneath the surface of mine tailings.

经济地质学家表示，水滑石能够在尾矿表面之下进行碳封存。

U of A biogeochemist Sasha Wilson supervised PhD research by Connor Turvey that identified new minerals capable of carbon capture. (Photo: John Ulan)

生物地球化学家Sasha Wilson监督Connor Turvey进行博士论文研究，发现了能够捕获碳的新矿物。 （照片：约翰乌兰）

A new group of minerals were found to capture and store carbon, according to new University of Alberta research.

根据阿尔伯塔大学的一项新研究，一组新矿物被发现可以捕获和储存碳。

The minerals, members of the hydrotalcite group, are the first outside of the carbonate family to naturally capture atmospheric CO2 in mine waste.

水滑石组的矿物质是碳酸盐岩族之外的第一个自然捕获矿山废弃物中的二氧化碳的矿物。

“Hydrotalcites are trapping the CO2 deeper into the tailings where carbonate minerals were unable to form,” said Connor Turvey, who conducted the research during his PhD studies under the supervision of Sasha Wilson.

“水滑石将二氧化碳更深地捕获到尾矿中，碳酸盐矿物不能形成，”Connor Turvey说道，他在Sasha Wilson的监督下进行了博士研究。

Mine tailings are made up of waste minerals removed from the ground during the mining process. As the minerals are exposed to the atmosphere and rainwater, they can react to form new minerals that trap CO2 from the atmosphere.

矿山尾矿由采矿过程中从地下清除的废矿物组成。 由于矿物质暴露在大气和雨水中，它们可以反应形成新的矿物质，从大气中捕获二氧化碳。

The research, conducted at the Woodsreef Asbestos Mine in New South Wales, Australia, highlights the potential for improving carbon capture beneath the surface of mining wastes, where most sequestration usually occurs.

这项研究在澳大利亚新南威尔士州Woodsreef Asbestos矿进行，强调了改善采矿废物表面下碳捕获的潜力，这些废物通常发生在大多数封存处。

“One thing this indicates is that the capacity for carbon sequestration at this depth could be improved by providing a more plentiful source of carbon to those depths,” added Wilson, a U of A expert in economic geology.

“有一点表明，通过为这些深度提供更丰富的碳源，可以提高这一深度的碳封存能力，”经济地质学专家Wilson补充道。

Carbon capture, utilization and storage in minerals is of growing importance for both academia and industry. The discovery points to the potential to use mineral waste from mines to sequester carbon more effectively, supporting remediation efforts.

矿物中的碳捕获，利用和储存对于学术界和工业界来说都变得越来越重要。 该发现表明有可能使用矿山的矿物废物更有效地隔离碳，支持补救措施。

“Merely going carbon neutral is no longer going to be enough to prevent climate change from occurring,” said Turvey. “What is now needed is for our world to become carbon negative.”

“仅仅碳中和不再足以防止气候变化发生，”Turvey说。 “现在需要的是我们的世界变成碳负排放的。”

That means industry must reduce carbon emissions while simultaneously exploring carbon sequestration to actively draw excess CO2 from the atmosphere—making discoveries like this one more important than ever.

这意味着工业必须减少碳排放，同时探索碳封存，积极从大气中吸收多余的二氧化碳，这比以往任何时候都更重要。

The research was conducted in Wilson’s laboratory, recently relocated from Monash University, in collaboration with the University of Queensland, the Australian National University and the University of British Columbia.

该研究在Wilson实验室进行，该实验室最近从莫纳什大学搬迁，与昆士兰大学，澳大利亚国立大学和不列颠哥伦比亚大学合作。

The study, “Hydrotalcites and Hydrated Mg-Carbonates as Carbon Sinks in Serpentinite Mineral Wastes From the Woodsreef Chrysotile Mine, New South Wales, Australia: Controls on Carbonate Mineralogy and Efficiency of CO2 Air Capture in Mine Tailings,” was published in the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control.

该研究“水滑石和水合镁碳酸盐作为碳沉积物来自澳大利亚新南威尔士Woodsreef温石棉矿的蛇纹岩矿物废弃物：对矿山尾矿中碳酸盐矿物学和二氧化碳空气捕获效率的控制”发表在国际期刊上 温室气体控制。