As part of the GreenRef third-party funded project with a company in the raw materials industry, various possibilities for CO2 reduction in the production and processing of raw materials are being investigated in an interdisciplinary manner at the University of Leoben, with a focus on the carbonation of geogenic and technogenic materials. A sub-project carried out at the Chair of Geology and Deposit Science and Chair of Resource Material Mineralogy investigates the availability and suitability of rocks for carbonation and CO2 fixation. Third-party funded projects on similar topics are being carried out with the oil and gas industry.

The methodological approach of these externally funded projects is based on the most complete mineralogical-petrographical and chemical characterisation possible using optical microscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and chemical analysis (XRF). These projects are supervised by Dr. Monika Feichter.