Mineral CO2 Sequestration by Carbonation of Glauberite

CO2 mineral sequestration has significant advantages such as safety and permanence, but its industrial application is limited by high costs. Combining CO2 mineral sequestration with existing industrial processes can make it economically viable by integrating ore extraction, crushing and grinding, and avoiding the construction of new carbonation plant. In this paper, CO2 mineral sequestration was combined with the leaching of sodium sulfate from glauberite. The dissolution behavior and carbonation process of glauberite ore were studied in detail. The influences of key parameters such as ammonia dosage, CO2 pressure and temperature were also investigated. The results showed that under the optimal conditions (ammonia dosage 110%, CO2 pressure 5 bar, temperature 100°C), the carbonation rate of glauberite can reach 93.4%, while the concentrations of sodium ion and sulfate ion were 25.8g/L and 53.8g/L, respectively. The increase of ammonia dosage and CO2 pressure contributed to the dissolution and carbonation of glauberite. Temperature, however, affected them in two very different ways.