Marine carbon dioxide removal technologies rely on the equilibration of the seawater with atmospheric CO2, where a pH increase can facilitate carbon dioxide removal either through increased absorption capacity of CO2, or precipitation of minerals. Here, we focus on explicitly defining the governing factors that influence seawater alkalinity with respect to CaCO3 mineralization and atmospheric CO2 uptake. We utilize an electrochemical setup and different water types, from near-shore Mediterranean seawater as well as Red Sea Salt water. The setup allows us to separate mineralization from alkalinity enhancement via an electrochemical membrane cell, and a second compartment with controlled environment, where the interplay of ion concentration, precipitation, pH, DIC concentration, and total alkalinity are evaluated. The effect of sparging additional carbon dioxide before, and after the precipitation of CaCO3 was evaluated while utilizing both a mild pH swing (from, ∼8.3 to ∼9.5), and a larger pH swing (from, ∼8.3 to ∼10.2). A thermodynamic model is presented defining the energy consumption to increase the pH, and the influence of Mg thereon is explicated. Furthermore, we detail theoretical aquatic chemistry simulations via PHREEQC to rationalize the observed intricate dynamics of the carbonate system in seawater. We end with a discussion of the implications of total alkalinity, pH, salt complexation, and carbon uptake capacity relevant to of all ocean alkalinity enhancement and marine based carbon dioxide removal systems, concluding that the carbon uptake capacity of water returned to the ocean must be verified in such technologies
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