TY - JOUR

T1 - Biomimetic CO2 sequestration using carbonic anhydrase for sustainable management of hazardous asbestos containing wastes

AU - Denisov, Stepan

AU - Kolyadenko, Ilya

AU - Selikhanov, Georgii

AU - Volynkin, Sergey

AU - Trutnev, Matvey

AU - Goryajnov, Dmitry

AU - Tsvetkov, Sergey

AU - Kasprzhitskii, Anton

AU - Lazorenko, Georgy

N1 - The authors acknowledge the support by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (grant No. FSUS-2024-0027).

PY - 2026/6

Y1 - 2026/6

N2 - The carbonation of ultramafic mine tailings is a recognized mechanism for geologically stable carbon sequestration. While alkaline mine tailings, such as chrysotile mining residues (CMR), offer significant potential for permanent CO2 storage, their carbonation is limited by the sluggish hydration of CO2 at the solid-water interface. This study investigates the efficacy of carbonic anhydrase (CA) as a biomimetic catalyst for enhancing the carbonation of hazardous CMR. A comprehensive experimental approach combining quantitative CO2 uptake measurements with structural characterization (XRD, FTIR, TGA, BET, SEM), was employed. The addition of carbonic anhydrase (CA) at 0.2 mg/mL accelerated the initial carbonation kinetics and increased the total CO2 uptake of CMR under ambient conditions (1 atm) and under accelerated carbonation (22 ± 2 °C, 70 ± 5% RH, 4 atm pCO2, water-to-solid ratio 0.50, 48 h exposure). Mineralogical analyses indicate carbonate formation mainly associated with the consumption of reactive brucite under the tested conditions, while most chrysotile/lizardite remained largely unchanged. These findings suggest that CA can enhance early-stage carbonation and carbonate formation under mild conditions, but full asbestos stabilization was not directly demonstrated. However, further research is needed to assess the scalability of this approach under field conditions, specifically regarding enzyme stability and activity over extended periods, process performance under real-world environmental fluctuations, and it is techno-economic viability.

AB - The carbonation of ultramafic mine tailings is a recognized mechanism for geologically stable carbon sequestration. While alkaline mine tailings, such as chrysotile mining residues (CMR), offer significant potential for permanent CO2 storage, their carbonation is limited by the sluggish hydration of CO2 at the solid-water interface. This study investigates the efficacy of carbonic anhydrase (CA) as a biomimetic catalyst for enhancing the carbonation of hazardous CMR. A comprehensive experimental approach combining quantitative CO2 uptake measurements with structural characterization (XRD, FTIR, TGA, BET, SEM), was employed. The addition of carbonic anhydrase (CA) at 0.2 mg/mL accelerated the initial carbonation kinetics and increased the total CO2 uptake of CMR under ambient conditions (1 atm) and under accelerated carbonation (22 ± 2 °C, 70 ± 5% RH, 4 atm pCO2, water-to-solid ratio 0.50, 48 h exposure). Mineralogical analyses indicate carbonate formation mainly associated with the consumption of reactive brucite under the tested conditions, while most chrysotile/lizardite remained largely unchanged. These findings suggest that CA can enhance early-stage carbonation and carbonate formation under mild conditions, but full asbestos stabilization was not directly demonstrated. However, further research is needed to assess the scalability of this approach under field conditions, specifically regarding enzyme stability and activity over extended periods, process performance under real-world environmental fluctuations, and it is techno-economic viability.

KW - Carbon mineralization

KW - Carbon sequestration

KW - Carbonic anhydrase

KW - Chrysotile asbestos

KW - Mine tailings

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105036892526

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/a1168871-d19d-3b0c-a418-e6805b944f5b/

U2 - 10.1016/j.biteb.2026.102770

DO - 10.1016/j.biteb.2026.102770

M3 - Article

VL - 34

JO - Bioresource Technology Reports

JF - Bioresource Technology Reports

SN - 2589-014X

M1 - 102770

ER -