Prof. Piotr Szymczak from the UW Faculty of Physics received the Fulbright STEM Impact Award 2023-2024. This grant will allow him to carry out a project on the process of mineral carbonation, one of the proposed methods for removing excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The project will be conducted at the University of Minnesota, USA.

The Fulbright STEM Impact Award is a short-term grant for researchers from the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) who manage research projects and have a supervisory role over scientists at the Polish higher education and research institutions.

Grant holders can spend several weeks at a host institution in the USA, doing research and/or teaching projects, as well as learning about the commercialisation of science and development of successful grant applications. Prof. Piotr Szymczak from the UW Faculty of Physics is among the laureates of the STEM Impact Award 2023-2024. Statistical physics is his field of expertise. Thanks to the grant, he will carry out research on the process of mineral carbonation, which is one of the proposed methods for removing excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Against climate change

Carbon dioxide contributes to the greenhouse effect and raises the Earth’s temperature. Reducing CO₂ in the atmosphere is crucial in the fight against climate change.

“Mineral carbonation as a method of carbon dioxide sequestration involves inducing a chemical reaction between CO₂ and minerals containing magnesium or calcium. This process leads to the binding of carbon dioxide in rocks in the form of stable mineral compounds. It is a more attractive method than traditional CO₂ sequestration methods, which involve injecting it into deep geological formations, as it allows for the long-term or even permanent removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere,” explains Prof. Szymczak, adding: “However, this reaction can be unpredictable – its products sometimes clog the rock pores, leading to the cessation of the reaction.”

The UW scientist points out that the project is dedicated to the numerical modelling of described processes and searching for conditions in which the carbonation reaction is most effective. He will pursue his grant at the University of Minnesota.

More information on the STEM Impact Award 2023-2024 is available on the website of the Polish-U.S. Fulbright Commission.