This work investigates the possible mineral input materials for the process of mineral sequestration through the carbonation of magnesium or calcium silicates under high pressure and high temperatures in an autoclave. The choice of input materials that are covered by this study represents more than 50% of the global peridotite production. Reaction products are amorphous silica and magnesite or calcite, respectively. Potential sources of magnesium silicate containing materials in Europe have been investigated in regards to their availability and capability for the process and their harmlessness concerning asbestos content. Therefore, characterization by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and QEMSCAN® was performed to gather information before the selection of specific material for the mineral sequestration. The objective of the following carbonation is the storage of a maximum amount of CO2 and the utilization of products as pozzolanic material or as fillers for the cement industry, which substantially contributes to anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The characterization of the potential mineral resources for mineral sequestration in Europe with a focus on the forsterite content led to a selection of specific input materials for the carbonation tests. The mineralogical analysis of an Italian olivine sample before and after the carbonation process states the reasons for the performed evaluation. The given data serves as an example of the input material suitability of all the collected mineral samples. Additionally, the possible conversion of natural asbestos occurring in minerals as a side effect of the carbonation process is taken into consideration.

Magnesium carbonate powders are essential in the manufacture of basic refractories capable of withstanding extremely high temperatures and for special types of cement and powders used in the paper, rubber, and pharmaceutical industries. A novel synthesis route is based on CO2 absorption/sequestration by minerals. This combines the global challenge of climate change with materials development. Carbon dioxide has the fourth highest composition in earth’s atmosphere next to nitrogen, oxygen and argon and plays a big role in global warming due to the greenhouse effect. Because of the significant increase of CO2 emissions, mineral carbonation is a promising process in which carbon oxide reacts with materials with high metal oxide composition to form chemically stable and insoluble metal carbonate. The formed carbonate has long-term stability and does not influence the earth’s atmosphere. Therefore, it is a feasible and safe method to bind carbon dioxide in carbonate compounds such as magnesite. The subject of this work is the carbonation of an olivine (Mg2SiO4) and synthetic magnesia sample (>97 wt% MgO) under high pressure and temperature in an autoclave. Early experiments have studied the influence of some additives such as sodium bicarbonate, oxalic acid and ascorbic acid, solid/liquid ratio, and particle size on the carbonation efficiency. The obtained results for carbonation of olivine have confirmed the formation of magnesium carbonate in the presence of additives and complete carbonation of the MgO sample in the absence of additives.

Silicon dioxide nanoparticles, also known as silica nanoparticles or nanosilica, are the basis for a great deal of biomedical and catalytic research due to their stability, low toxicity and ability to be functionalized with a range of molecules and polymers. A novel synthesis route is based on CO2 absorption/sequestration in an autoclave by forsterite (Mg2SiO4), which is part of the mineral group of olivines. Therefore, it is a feasible and safe method to bind carbon dioxide in carbonate compounds such as magnesite forming at the same time as the spherical particles of silica. Indifference to traditional methods of synthesis of nanosilica such as sol gel, ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method and hydrothermal synthesis using some acids and alkaline solutions, this synthesis method takes place in water solution at 175 °C and above 100 bar. Our first experiments have studied the influence of some additives such as sodium bicarbonate, oxalic acid and ascorbic acid, solid/liquid ratio and particle size on the carbonation efficiency, without any consideration of formed silica. This paper focuses on a carbonation mechanism for synthesis of nanosilica under high pressure and high temperature in an autoclave, its morphological characteristics and important parameters for silica precipitation such as pH-value and rotating speed.

Rising levels of greenhouse gases (GHG) in our atmosphere make it necessary to find pathways to reduce the amount of GHG, especially emissions of CO2. One approach is carbon capture and utilization by mineralization (CCUM). With this technology, it is possible to bind CO2 chemically from exhaust gas streams in magnesium or calcium silicates. Stable products of this exothermic reaction are carbonates and amorphous silica. Being amongst the biggest emitters of CO2, the cement industry has to find ways to reduce emissions. Geological mapping in Europe has been carried out to find suitable feedstock material, mainly olivines but also slags, to perform lab‑scale carbonation tests. These tests, conducted in a 1.5 L autoclave with increased pressure and temperature, have been scaled up to a 10 L and a 1000 L autoclave. The outcomes of the carbonation are unreacted feed material, carbonate, and amorphous silica, which have to be separated to produce substitutes for the cement industry as pozzolanic material (amorphous silica) or a value‑added product for other applications like paper or plastics (magnesite/calcite with bound anthropogenic CO2). Therefore, a process for the separation of ultrafine carbonation product was developed, consisting mainly of classification and flotation.

In the traditional vanadium precipitation process, the use of ammonium salts can produce serious pollution problems from the ammonia waste-water and the ammonia gas generated during the processing. In this reported study, an eco-friendly technology was investigated to prepare vanadium oxides from a typical vanadium (IV) strip liquor, obtained after the hydrometallurgical treatment of a vanadium-bearing shale. Thermodynamic analysis demonstrated that VO(OH)2 could be prepared as a precursor over a suitable solution pH range. Experimental results showed that by adjusting the pH to around 5.6, at room temperature, 98.6% of the vanadium in the strip liquor was formed into hydroxide, in 5 min. After obtaining the VO(OH)2, it was washed with dilute acid to minimize the level of impurities. VO2 and V2O5 were then produced by reacting the VO(OH)2 with air or argon, in a tube furnace. The XRD analyses of the products showed that VO2 had been produced in air and V2O5 had been produced in argon. The purity of the VO2 was 98.82% after calcining for 2 h at 550 °C, in argon flow, at a rate of 50 mL/min. It was found that the purity of the V2O5 was 98.70%, using the same reaction conditions in air. Compared to the traditional precipitation method that uses ammonium salt, followed by calcination, this proposed method is eco-friendly and employs less quantities of reagents and energy, and two types of products can be produced. Consequently, this process could promote the sustainable development of the vanadium chemical industry.