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Frontiers of Chemical Science and Engineering >> 2010, Volume 4, Issue 2 doi: 10.1007/s11705-009-0259-5

A stepwise process for carbon dioxide sequestration using magnesium silicates

1.Åbo Akademi University, Thermal and Flow Engineering, Biskopsgatan 8, FI-20500 Åbo / Turku, Finland; 2.visiting from University of Coimbra, Department of Chemical Engineering, Pólo II, Pinhal de Marrocos, 3030-290 Coimbra, Portugal;

Available online: 2010-06-05

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Abstract

This work involves the production of magnesium in the form of Mg(OH) from serpentinite rock (nickel mine tailing) material followed by conversion into MgCO using a pressurised fluidised bed (PFB) reactor operating at 400°C–600°C and pressures up to 2.85MPa. Our approach is rooted in the thermodynamic fact that the reaction between Mg(OH) and gaseous CO forming MgCO and water releases significant amounts of heat. The main problem is, however, the chemical kinetics; the reaction is slow and has to be accelerated in order to be used in an economically viable process for large-scale (~1Mt/a) CO sequestration. We have constructed a lab-scale PFB reactor test-setup for optimising the carbonation reaction. At high enough temperatures and conversion levels the reaction should provide the heat for the proceeding Mg(OH) production step, making the overall process energy neutral. So far we have been able to achieve a conversion degree of 26% at 500°C and 2.85MPa after 30min (particle size 125–212μm). In this paper the test facility and our latest results and progress on CO mineral carbonation are summarised. Also, the possible integration of the iron as a feedstock for iron and steel production will be briefly addressed. An interesting side-effect of this carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) route is that significant amounts of iron are obtained from the serpentinite rock material. This is released during the Mg(OH) production and can be of great interest to the iron- and steel producing sector, which at the same time is Finland’s largest CO producer.

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