Fine Calcium Carbonate Production by CO₂ Mineralization of Industrial Waste Brines

Conference · Thu Jul 18 00:00:00 EDT 2019

OSTI ID:1544764

Simonetti, Dante; La Plante, Erika Callagon; Sant, Gaurav; Wang, Bu; Alturki, Abdulaziz; Bustillos, Steven

Calcium carbonate production via CO₂ mineralization offers an attractive route for carbon capture and utilization. The process sequesters CO₂ in a stable form of fine precipitated calcium carbonate, a high-value product with unit price in the range of $230-$280/t and a global market projected to reach 99 M tons in 2020. However, two critical barriers hinders CO₂ mineralization—(i) the need for costly processes such as electrolysis or addition of alkali hydroxides to maintain alkalinity during mineralization, and (ii) the geographic location mismatch between Ca-rich solutions (or brines) CO₂ generation sources (e.g. power plants) which often renders efficient integration of feedstocks impractical. To simultaneously address these challenges, a new process is developed to integrate CO₂ mineralization-based carbonate production into the zero liquid discharge water (ZLD) treatment systems at coal-fired power plants. In this process, Ca-rich streams, such as produced water from oil and gas extraction or carbon storage operations, serves as the Ca-source. An H⁺/Na⁺ ion-exchange cycle is designed to provision alkalinity during mineralization and regenerate the ion-exchange reagent in solutions with high salinity. Ca-depleted streams are then treated within a centralized ZLD system. The process beneficially utilizes reject streams that are available at substantial quantities in the vicinity of coal power plants within several U.S regions. In addition, the process utilizes post-desulfurization flue gas from coal-fired power plants as is. The CO₂ conversion reactions are performed in alkaline streams at ambient pressure, thereby minimizing the energy burden. By beneficiation of industrial waste streams with low energy input, this process offers significant technical advantages in energy and CO₂ footprint over the current paradigm of precipitated calcium carbonate production. Overall, the new process provides a unique route to integrate CO₂ emissions control and wastewater treatment for coal power plants, while producing high-value product to offset the economic burden associated with waste management.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)
• DOE Contract Number: FE0031705
• OSTI ID: 1544764
• Resource Relation: Conference: 2019 Carbon Management Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, USA, July 15-18, 2019
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English