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Minerals
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CO2 Mineralization and Utilization
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CO2 Mineralization and Utilization

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Mineralogy and Biogeochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2025) | Viewed by 8961

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Fei Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Laval University, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Interests: CO2 mineralization and utilization; hydrometallurgical extraction of critical metals; comprehensive utilization of mineral resources
Prof. Dr. Rafael Santos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
Interests: CO2 sequestration and utilization; solid waste valorization; mineral synthesis; mineralogical characterization; (bio)hydrometallurgy; geochemical modeling; environmental remediation; process intensification
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Effective reduction in CO2 emissions towards carbon neutrality needs both CO2 mineralization and enhanced supply of critical materials to facilitate the clean energy transition as direct and indirect approaches, respectively. CO2 mineralization is one example of the self-regulatory mechanisms of the Earth and can be accelerated to capture and store excessive CO2 gas as stable mineral carbonates. Accelerated CO2 mineralization can be also utilized in many aspects of anthropology activities, e.g., enhancing the growth of agricultural crops, enhancing metal recovery, producing nanosilicas, etc. With the global transition to clean energy, the utilization of CO2 mineralization plays an increasingly important role in enhancing the recovery of critical materials with minimizing CO2 emissions for sustainable development.

Dr. Fei Wang
Dr. Rafael Santos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • CO2 mineralization and utilization
  • carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS)
  • carbon neutrality
  • clean energy transition
  • sustainable development
  • CO2 emission reduction
  • enhanced metal recovery (EMR)
  • critical and strategic minerals (MCS)

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 4425 KiB  
Article
Transition of CO2 from Emissions to Sequestration During Chemical Weathering of Ultramafic and Mafic Mine Tailings
by Xiaolin Zhang, Long-Fei Gou, Liang Tang, Shen Liu, Tim T. Werner, Feng Jiang, Yinger Deng and Amogh Mudbhatkal
Minerals 2025, 15(1), 68; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15010068 - 12 Jan 2025
Viewed by 738
Abstract
Weather-enhanced sulphide oxidation accelerates CO2 release into the atmosphere. However, over extended geological timescales, ultramafic and mafic magmatic minerals may transition from being sources of CO2 emissions to reservoirs for carbon sequestration. Ultramafic and mafic mine tailings present a unique opportunity [...] Read more.
Weather-enhanced sulphide oxidation accelerates CO2 release into the atmosphere. However, over extended geological timescales, ultramafic and mafic magmatic minerals may transition from being sources of CO2 emissions to reservoirs for carbon sequestration. Ultramafic and mafic mine tailings present a unique opportunity to monitor carbon balance processes, as mine waste undergoes instantaneous and rapid chemical weathering, which shortens the duration between CO2 release and absorption. In this study, we analysed 30 vanadium-titanium magnetite mine tailings ponds with varying closure times in the Panxi region of China, where ~60 years of mineral excavation and dressing have produced significant outcrops of mega-mine waste. Our analysis of anions, cations, saturation simulations, and 87Sr/86Sr; δ13C and δ34S isotopic fingerprints from mine tailings filtrates reveals that the dissolution load of mine tailings may depend significantly on early-stage sulphide oxidation. Despite the abundance of ultramafic and mafic minerals in tailings, dolomite dominates chemical weathering, accounting for ~79.2% of the cationic load. Additionally, due to sulphuric-carbonate weathering, the filtrates undergo deacidification along with sulphide depletion. The data in this study suggest that pristine V-Ti-Fe tailings ponds undergo CO2 emissions in the first two years but subsequently begin to absorb atmospheric CO2 along with the filtrates. Our results provide valuable insights into monitoring weathering transitions and carbon balance in ultramafic and mafic rocks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue CO2 Mineralization and Utilization)
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27 pages, 22816 KiB  
Article
Aqueous Carbonation of Waste Incineration Residues: Comparing BA, FA, and APCr Across Production Scenarios
by Quentin Wehrung, Davide Bernasconi, Enrico Destefanis, Caterina Caviglia, Nadia Curetti, Sara Di Felice, Erica Bicchi, Alessandro Pavese and Linda Pastero
Minerals 2024, 14(12), 1269; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14121269 - 13 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1031
Abstract
This study investigates the reactivity of municipal solid waste incineration residues to aqueous carbonation, focusing on CO2 absorption rates, uptakes, and heavy metal (HM) leachability. Various combinations of boiler, electrofilter, and bag filter residues were assessed under typical incineration conditions. Bag filter [...] Read more.
This study investigates the reactivity of municipal solid waste incineration residues to aqueous carbonation, focusing on CO2 absorption rates, uptakes, and heavy metal (HM) leachability. Various combinations of boiler, electrofilter, and bag filter residues were assessed under typical incineration conditions. Bag filter residues from lime-sorbent plants exhibited the highest CO2 uptake (244.5 gCO2/kg), while bottom ash (BA) fine fraction, boiler/electrofilter fly ash (FA), and other mixed air pollution control residue (APCr) demonstrated uptakes of 101, 0, 93, and 167 gCO2/kg, respectively. Carbonation kinetics revealed that high calcium content FA and APCr, followed similar CO2 absorption trends. Notably, BA carbonation was predominantly driven by Ca-aluminates rather than lime. Carbonation reduces leaching of Al, As, Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn compared to water washing, though significant concerns arise with anions such as Sb and Cr. In BA, critical behaviours of Cr, Mn, and Fe were observed, with Cr leaching likely controlled by Fe-Mn-Cr oxide particle dissolution. These findings highlight the potential of integrating enhanced metal recovery (EMR) through density or magnetic separation in BA prior to carbonation to reduce HM leaching and recycle critical metals (Ag, Cu, Cr, Ni, Mn, etc). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue CO2 Mineralization and Utilization)
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17 pages, 2368 KiB  
Article
A Mathematical Model for Enhancing CO2 Capture in Construction Sector Using Hydrated Lime
by Natalia Vidal de la Peña, Séverine Marquis, Stéphane Jacques, Elise Aubry, Grégoire Léonard and Dominique Toye
Minerals 2024, 14(9), 889; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14090889 - 30 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1135
Abstract
The construction sector is among the most polluting industries globally, accounting for approximately 37.5% of the European Union’s total waste generation in 2020. Therefore, it is imperative to develop strategies to enhance the sustainability of this sector. This paper proposes a multiscale COMSOL [...] Read more.
The construction sector is among the most polluting industries globally, accounting for approximately 37.5% of the European Union’s total waste generation in 2020. Therefore, it is imperative to develop strategies to enhance the sustainability of this sector. This paper proposes a multiscale COMSOL Multiphysics numerical model for an ex situ mineral carbonation process of hydrated lime. The carbonation process is characterized at both the micro- and macroscale levels, encompassing interactions within and between the particles. This model incorporates both reaction and diffusion phenomena, considering the effects of porosity and liquid-water saturation parameters. Generally, liquid-water saturation enhances the reaction kinetics but not CO2 diffusion, while porosity improves CO2 diffusion throughout the granular bed. The model has been experimentally validated, showing promising results by accurately characterizing carbonation tendencies and the influence of the CO2 flow rate and the initial water-to-solid ratio on the carbonation process. The proposed mathematical model facilitates the study of various parameters, including particle radius, reactor geometry, and material porosity. This analysis is valuable for both current and future projects, as it aims to identify the most profitable configurations for the hydrated lime carbonation process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue CO2 Mineralization and Utilization)
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14 pages, 7041 KiB  
Article
Acceleration of Iron-Rich Olivine CO2 Mineral Carbonation and Utilization for Simultaneous Critical Nickel and Cobalt Recovery
by Fei Wang and David Dreisinger
Minerals 2024, 14(8), 766; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14080766 - 28 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1298
Abstract
CO2 mineral carbonation is an important method to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) in the form of stable mineral carbonates for permanent storage. The slow kinetics of carbonation, especially for iron-rich olivine, is the major challenge for potential application. This work [...] Read more.
CO2 mineral carbonation is an important method to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) in the form of stable mineral carbonates for permanent storage. The slow kinetics of carbonation, especially for iron-rich olivine, is the major challenge for potential application. This work proposes methods to accelerate the mineral carbonation process of different materials in the general mineral grouping of divalent metals–olivine for simultaneous nickel and cobalt recovery. It is found that nickel-olivine is facile for mineral carbonation compared to ferrous and magnesium olivine. Ferrous olivine is the most difficult form of olivine to carbonate as illustrated in both thermodynamics and experimental test results. The increase in iron content in olivine inhibits the CO2 mineral carbonation process by forming an iron-silica-rich passivation interlayer. The use of a reducing gas or reagent can enhance the mineral carbonation of olivine probably through hindering oxidation of Fe(Ⅱ). The addition of sodium nitrilotriacetate (NTA) as a metal complexing agent is much more efficient for the acceleration than usage of a reducing atmosphere. The combination of sodium bicarbonate/CO2 gas supply and NTA can enhance the diffusion of all divalent metal ions from the reacting olivine surface, thereby limiting the formation of the passivation interlayer. Meanwhile, highly selective nickel and cobalt leaching can be simultaneously achieved along with the CO2 mineral carbonation, 94% nickel, and 92% cobalt leaching as well as 47% mineral carbonation versus only 10% iron and 1% magnesium leached in 2 h. This work provides a novel direction to achieve critical metals recovery with accelerated mineral carbonation process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue CO2 Mineralization and Utilization)
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18 pages, 17298 KiB  
Article
Accelerated Carbonation of High-Calcite Wollastonite Tailings
by Arnold Ismailov, Niina Merilaita and Erkki Levänen
Minerals 2024, 14(4), 415; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14040415 - 18 Apr 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1601
Abstract
Wollastonite (CaSiO3) is the most researched and well-defined mineral in the field of CO2 mineralization, but it is also a sought-after process mineral and thus, not easily justified for large scale ex situ carbon sequestration, which requires an energy-intensive step [...] Read more.
Wollastonite (CaSiO3) is the most researched and well-defined mineral in the field of CO2 mineralization, but it is also a sought-after process mineral and thus, not easily justified for large scale ex situ carbon sequestration, which requires an energy-intensive step of comminution to increase reactivity. Wollastonite-rich mine tailings are a side stream with an already fine particle size resulting from the extractive process, but their effective utilization is problematic due to legislation, logistics, a high number of impurities, and chemical inconsistency. In this study, the accelerated weathering (aqueous carbonation) of high-calcite (CaCO3) wollastonite tailings was studied under elevated temperatures and high partial pressures of CO2 to determine the carbon sequestration potential of those tailings compared to those of pure reference wollastonite originating from the same quarry. The main process variables were pressure (20–100 bar), temperature (40 °C–60 °C), and time (10 min–24 h). Despite consisting largely of non-reactive silicates and primary calcite, very fine tailings showed promise in closed-chamber batch-type aqueous carbonation, achieving a conversion extent of over 28% in one hour at 100 bar and 60 °C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue CO2 Mineralization and Utilization)
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Other

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15 pages, 54235 KiB  
Technical Note
Integration of Modified Solvay Process for Sodium Bicarbonate Synthesis from Saline Brines with Steelmaking for Utilization of Electric Arc Furnace Slag in CO2 Sequestration and Reagent Regeneration
by Shadman Monir Anto, Asif Ali and Rafael M. Santos
Minerals 2024, 14(1), 97; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14010097 - 16 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2226
Abstract
In the pursuit of sustainable solutions for carbon dioxide CO2 sequestration and emission reduction in the steel industry, this study presents an innovative integration of steelmaking slag with the modified Solvay process for sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) synthesis from saline brines. [...] Read more.
In the pursuit of sustainable solutions for carbon dioxide CO2 sequestration and emission reduction in the steel industry, this study presents an innovative integration of steelmaking slag with the modified Solvay process for sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) synthesis from saline brines. Utilizing diverse minerals, including electric arc furnace (EAF) slag, olivine, and kimberlite, the study explored their reactivity under varied pH conditions and examined their potential in ammonium regeneration. SEM and WDXRF analyses were utilized to acquire morphological and chemical compositions of the minerals. Advanced techniques such as XRD and ICP-OES were employed to meticulously analyze mineralogical transformations and elemental concentrations. The findings demonstrate that steelmaking slag, owing to its superior reactivity and pH buffering capabilities, outperforms natural minerals. The integration of finer slag particles significantly elevated pH levels, facilitating efficient ammonium regeneration. Geochemical modeling provided valuable insights into mineral stability and reactivity, which aligned with the ICP-OES results. This synergistic approach not only aids in CO2 capture through mineral carbonation but also minimizes waste, showcasing its potential as a sustainable and environmentally responsible solution for CO2 mitigation in the steel industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue CO2 Mineralization and Utilization)
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