The UAE launches a pilot project for carbon dioxide mining to reduce the repercussions of climate change

Weather of Arabia - With organizations and industries acknowledging the repercussions of climate change, the world is moving towards a carbon-free future and building a climate neutral strategy for a sustainable future. Rock formations located in the Emirate of Fujairah.

Today, Tuesday, during the activities of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, the Emirati “ADNOC” announced its cooperation with the Fujairah Natural Resources Corporation, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company “Masdar”, and the “44.01” company, to launch the pilot project, which is scheduled to start in January 2023.

The project will use 44.01's carbon capture and mining (CCM) technology. The project will be the first in the field of capturing and mining carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which is being implemented by a company operating in the energy sector in the Middle East, and is working to make a significant contribution to supporting the UAE's strategic initiative to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

The Emirate of Fujairah was chosen to implement this pilot project due to its abundance of peridotite, a form of rock that interacts naturally with carbon dioxide and converts it into a mineral and ensures that it does not leak back into the atmosphere.

How is carbon dioxide mining done?

Through this pilot project, carbon dioxide gas will be captured from the atmosphere, mixed with sea water, and then injected in a safe manner into the underground peridotitic rock formations, where it will be mineralized.

(Underground, a CO2 solution comes into contact with basalt and turns into a chalky white calcite that fills the pores of rocks- BBC)

((I) Capturing carbon dioxide from atmospheric vapor to go to a gas separation station (II) to be mixed with water (III) transported by pipes to the injection site (IIII) and pumped underground where the CO2 is mineralized in rocks - BBC)

Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is vital to reducing the effects and repercussions of climate change. Unlike CO2 storage, mineralization permanently removes CO2 by turning it into rock, which in the long term reduces the need to monitor and secure underground CO2 reservoirs, providing a safe, cost-effective and natural solution. To get rid of carbon dioxide captured globally.

The project will be operated by relying on solar energy sources provided by Masdar. This pilot project will also provide the potential to mine billions of tons of carbon dioxide sequestered throughout the region.

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