Chemically Engineered Process for Enhanced Carbon Mineralization Potential

Globally, carbon capture and storage technologies are being developed to prevent CO2 from entering the atmosphere. One promising version of these technologies is carbon mineralization. Carbon mineralization reacts CO2 gas with minerals containing magnesium and/or calcium. When CO2 reacts with these minerals, it forms solid carbonate which may be sold for use in building materials. One plausible source of these minerals is waste produced at mining facilities. This project aims to optimize the mineralization process with mine wastes using a two-step process: (1) a high-temperature reaction of mine waste with a reactive salt and (2) aqueous carbonation. Experiments in the laboratory will be followed by demonstration at a larger scale with a specialized reaction vessel, specifically engineered to promote the optimal reaction conditions. An economic and locational analysis of the process will reveal locations where the optimized process can be implemented, based on the location of suitable minerals and CO2 sources. These CO2 sources can include industrial emitters, such as power plants, facilities where CO2 is captured directly from air, or air itself. The work proposed here will enhance the rate of carbon mineralization, as well as provide a process to use minerals that have not been widely tested in scientific literature. This will increase the amount of available minerals used to capture CO2. Finally, the carbonates produced in this process can be used as value-added building materials, such as aggregate for making cement. This can offset some of the carbon footprint associated with the cement industry.