Abstract
Silicate minerals, which are naturally present in rocks, react with CO2 in the atmosphere to produce solid carbonate minerals or bicarbonate ions dissolved in oceans. In both cases, CO2 is trapped almost indefinitely. More commonly known as weathering, this mechanism is the natural way of moderating the CO2 levels in the atmosphere. In this regard, enhanced weathering which aims to hasten this natural process in order to sequester CO2 within human relevant time scales, has been proposed as a potential strategy towards moderating climate change. This process involves grinding the silicates and applying them on land surfaces to facilitate dissolution. Most experts estimate that the process has the capability of sequestering gigatons of CO2 annually. However, implementing this strategy on an industrial scale will require systematic methodologies to maximize its potential benefits. The property of silicate rocks affects its potential for CO2 sequestration while soil properties can impose limits on its application. Furthermore, estimates for its economic feasibility remain uncertain. A fuzzy mixed integer linear program is developed in this work for planning enhanced weathering networks in consideration of system uncertainties. Results suggest that sequestration potential and application rate largely influences the network structure.
