Factors Influencing CO₂ and Energy Penalties of CO₂ Mineralization Processes

Carbon mineralization is one of the carbon capture utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies that can be used to capture large quantities of CO₂ and convert it into stable carbonate products that can be stored easily. Several CO₂ mineralization processes have been proposed; however, there are no commercial-scale projects because there are still significant issues that need to be improved before commercialization can take place. In this work, we evaluate the CO₂ and energy penalties related to the most well-known types of mineralization processes developed to date, in which the mineralization reaction takes place directly under aqueous conditions, high pressures and temperatures, and compared these with newer T-P swing processes and ball-mill reactor processes, which are under development. The data used in the evaluation are taken from published literature. By comparing the three processes, we identify important variables that contribute to high CO₂ and energy penalties so that future research can focus on optimization of these variables. It is observed that slurry concentration (heating) and particle size (grinding) are critical factors, with mineral calcination and operating pressure constituting other important factors.