Carbon Sequestration Kinetic and Storage Capacity of Ultramafic Mining Waste

Abstract

Mineral carbonation of ultramafic rocks provides an environmentally safe and permanent solution for CO(2) sequestration. In order to assess the carbonation potential of ultramafic waste material produced by industrial processing, we designed a laboratory-scale method, using a modified eudiometer, to measure continuous CO(2) consumption in samples at atmospheric pressure and near ambient temperature. The eudiometer allows monitoring the CO(2) partial pressure during mineral carbonation reactions. The maximum amount of carbonation and the reaction rate of different samples were measured in a range of experimental conditions: humidity from dry to submerged, temperatures of 21 and 33 °C, and the proportion of CO(2) in the air from 4.4 to 33.6 mol %. The most reactive samples contained ca. 8 wt % CO(2) after carbonation. The modal proportion of brucite in the mining residue is the main parameter determining maximum storage capacity of CO(2). The reaction rate depends primarily on the proportion of CO(2) in the gas mixture and secondarily on parameters controlling the diffusion of CO(2) in the sample, such as relative saturation of water in pore space. Nesquehonite was the dominant carbonate for reactions at 21 °C, whereas dypingite was most common at 33 °C.

Strategizing Carbon-Neutral Mines: A Case for Pilot Projects

“…These tailings, which are otherwise a waste product, are a potentially valuable mineral feedstock for carbon mineralization because of their quantity, mineralogical composition, and high reactive surface areas that are generated during ore processing. Although felsic tailings may also act as mineral feedstock for carbonation reactions, ultramafic and mafic mine wastes have been the focus of most studies as these wastes are more reactive (e.g., [18,25]). …”

“…Specifically, numerous studies have explored the use of ultramafic mine wastes as a potentially valuable feedstock for carbon mineralization [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. Ultramafic and mafic mines generate vast quantities of mine tailings that offer a readily available, fine-grained feedstock for carbonation.…”

Mineralization of Carbon Dioxide: A Literature Review

“…Power et al [146] utilized a microbial method for mineral carbonation. Pronost et al [147] used ultramafic mineral waste for a mineral carbonation study. Vögeli et al [148] reported an investigation of the potential for mineral carbonation of the Platinum Group Metals' processing tailings in South Africa.…”

Applications and limitations of U–Th disequilibria systematics for determining ages of carbonate alteration minerals in peridotite

“…Trommsdorff and Evans, 1977;Trommsdorff et al, 1980;Ferry, 1995;Surour and Arafa, 1997;Kelley et al, 2001;Früh-Green et al, 2003;Ludwig et al, 2006Ludwig et al, , 2011Kelemen and Matter, 2008;Matter and Kelemen, 2009;Power et al, 2009;Kelemen et al, 2011;Pronost et al, 2011;Beinlich and Austrheim, 2012;Harrison et al, 2013;Chavagnac et al, 2013a, b;Mervine et al, 2014), the natural rate of peridotite carbonation and therefore the rate of CO 2 uptake via this alteration mechanism is poorly known (e.g. Wilson et al, 2006Wilson et al, , 2009aWilson et al, , 2009bKelemen and Matter, 2008;Kelemen et al, 2011;Mervine et al, 2014).…”