Researchers in South Dakota are studying microbes found in an extreme underground environment, more than 1,200 meters deep, capable of accelerating the conversion of CO₂ into solid minerals in weeks, with potential applications in power plants, factories, and construction materials.

Written by Fabio Lucas Carvalho

Published on 30/05/2026 at 19:26

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Discovery over 1,200 meters deep reveals microbes capable of transforming industrial smoke into useful solid minerals

Researchers from South Dakota study microbes found in an extreme underground environment and point to a biotechnological route to capture CO₂ from industrial emissions, converting carbon into solid minerals that can be used in sectors such as construction, cement, paints, paper, and plastics.

Scientists from South Dakota identified microbes 1,250 meters deep capable of accelerating the conversion of CO₂ into rock in weeks, paving the way for a carbon capture technology aimed at industrial emissions and construction materials.

Microbes found in extreme underground environment

The discovery occurred in an underground laboratory installed more than 1,200 meters below the surface, where microorganisms adapted to the absence of sunlight, high pressure, extreme temperatures, and hostile chemical conditions live.

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How microbes transform CO₂ into rock

The process studied uses the biological activity of these microorganisms to convert captured carbon into solid minerals. Instead of treating CO₂ merely as waste, the technology transforms it into mineral matter with productive applications.

The resulting calcium carbonate is used in concrete, cement, paints, paper, plastics, and other products present in different industrial chains. This possibility increases the economic viability of the system by associating emission reduction and input generation.

The proposal also differs from traditional forms of geological storage, which usually require CO₂ injection into deep formations and can take years for complete mineralization.

In the tests described by the researchers, the conversion can occur in a matter of weeks under certain conditions. Speed is one of the central points for sectors that need to reduce emissions and demonstrate results in shorter periods.

Industrial application can use mobile units

One of the possibilities in development involves mobile units capable of being taken to different facilities, avoiding the need to erect permanent infrastructure from the start at each emission site.

These units could operate near industrial chimneys, capturing CO₂ directly at the source. The cited proposal foresees equipment capable of eliminating up to 1 ton of CO₂ per day.

The potential use includes thermal power plants and factories, especially in activities that continue to generate large volumes of carbon dioxide even when incorporating renewable energy or other efficiency improvements.

Tests with ashes from thermal power plants were also mentioned to facilitate the formation of carbonate minerals. This approach brings the technology closer to a circular economy logic by combining carbon capture and waste utilization.

The role of carbon capture

Carbon capture and storage appear in international strategies for sectors difficult to decarbonize. Cement, steel, fertilizer, and chemical production still rely on emission-intensive processes.

Mineralization projects already exist in countries like Iceland, where CO₂ is injected into basalt formations to transform into rock. The difference in the biological approach lies in the flexibility and proximity to emission sources.

The advancement also reveals the potential of underground ecosystems. Little-known organisms can offer solutions for decontamination, recovery of critical minerals, energy production, and industrial waste management.

There are still steps to be completed before widespread adoption. The technology needs to advance in pilot tests and confirm performance on an industrial scale. If this occurs, microbes could help reduce emissions, transform carbon into useful material, and expand alternatives for complex industries against hard-to-reduce industrial emissions.

This article was prepared based on information released by sanfordlab. The content was supported by AI tools in editorial organization and underwent human review before publication.

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Researchers in South Dakota are studying microbes found in an extreme underground environment, more than 1,200 meters deep, capable of accelerating the conversion of CO₂ into solid minerals in weeks, with potential applications in power plants, factories, and construction materials.

Discovery over 1,200 meters deep reveals microbes capable of transforming industrial smoke into useful solid minerals

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Microbes found in extreme underground environment

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Researchers in South Dakota are studying microbes found in an extreme underground environment, more than 1,200 meters deep, capable of accelerating the conversion of CO₂ into solid minerals in weeks, with potential applications in power plants, factories, and construction materials.

Discovery over 1,200 meters deep reveals microbes capable of transforming industrial smoke into useful solid minerals

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Microbes found in extreme underground environment

How microbes transform CO₂ into rock

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In the cold desert of Ladakh, where it hardly rains, engineer Sonam Wangchuk created the ice stupa, a tower that freezes winter water and stores it for irrigating crops in the spring, a simple engineering feat that mimics nature.

Almost 6,000 residents live concentrated along a single street nearly 9 km long in the interior of Poland. Houses form a continuous row, and behind them, narrow agricultural strips emerge, creating one of the most unusual rural patterns in Europe.

Libya built over 4,000 kilometers of underground pipelines to bring water from the Sahara to coastal cities in a project that the government itself called the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Chinese woman planted trees for decades while sand buried part of her house, received $5,000 from an American in 1999, and helped transform the desert into a forest of 8 million trees in China.

Desert sand, previously discarded for being too smooth for concrete, becomes an ecological brick in the United Arab Emirates, dispensing with Portland cement, curing at room temperature, and attempting to transform dunes useless for construction into raw material for a new arid engineering.

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Described by astronauts as one of the most unlikely natural phenomena on Earth, the Okavango Delta spreads over up to 15,000 square kilometers in the middle of the desert and transforms Botswana into a living labyrinth of channels, islands, and flooded areas.

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