연구홍보포털

논문 초록 (Abstract)

Enhanced rock weathering (ERW) is a promising carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technology that accelerates natural silicate weathering processes to achieve long-term atmospheric CO2 sequestration. However, many ERW studies rely on readily available feedstocks without fully accounting for the stoichiometric limitations of carbonate minerals or the site-specific environmental constraints. In South Korea, large-scale ERW deployment is further constrained by the predominance of granitic bedrock and the scarcity of highly reactive natural basic rocks such as basalt. To address these challenges, this review distinguishes silicate weathering from carbonate dissolution and assesses the domestic availability and supply potential of industrial by-products, including blast furnace slag, steelmaking slag, and ferronickel slag as synthetic silicate alternatives. Although Korea’s steel and cement industries provide logistical and life-cycle advantages, over 96% of slags are already utilized in other sectors, creating a bottleneck for ERW scalability and necessitating national-level resource optimization. Beyond resource constraints, this review highlights socio-economic trade-offs between short-term agricultural co-benefits and long-term CDR goals, along with risks associated with trace metal leaching. Overall, successful ERW deployment in South Korea requires an interdisciplinary framework integrating resource management, ecological safety, and measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems.