A team of international researchers led by the engineering academics of the University of Canterbury (UC), believe they have a key potential for change in mitigating the effects of climate change.
UC Associate Civil Engineering lead researcher Allan Scott, and his team in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand, have discovered a new low-carbon method to extract the common mineral, magnesium hydroxide or Mg (OH) 2 to implement.
Professor Scott explains that magnesium hydroxide is widely recognized as one of the most promising materials for ‘carbon mining’ (where carbon dioxide or CO are not prevented from being -into the atmosphere), but so far there was no energy-efficient way to extract it.
“Most processes to obtain magnesium hydroxide usually involve CO emissions. We propose a new method to extract magnesium hydroxide from olivine; miner abounds here in New Zealand and around the world. Our approach uses existing technology, yields useful by-products and importantly low to zero CO emissions throughout the process. ”
In the new paper published in Land & Environment Communications, the researchers explain that olivine can be ground into a powder, along with hydrochloric acid and an electrolysis process can be used to produce magnesium hydroxide. Lab tests showed that 100 tons of olivine could produce 35 tons of magnesium hydroxide, as well as 35 tons of amorphous silicate – a material used in products such as semiconductor circuits and cement.
“Finding this approach has the potential to have a significant impact on our ability to reduce global CO emissions,” says Professional Professor Scott.
Approximately 40 billion tons of human CO are released into the atmosphere each year which contributes to global warming. Hence, ‘point source’ emissions such as power generation [coal plants, natural gas] and industrial production make up about 50 percent of the total CO.
“This new method makes it possible to produce magnesium hydroxide on a large scale, which can then be transported to industrial and manufacturing sites to mine the extracted CO,” he says.
“In theory it is possible to remove and sustain at least half of the 40 billion tonnes of CO for thousands of years. The challenge now is to take this approach from the laboratory to a business process that can be widely disseminated at a reasonable cost. ”
The research team is led by Professional Professor Allan Scott, including UC Occidental College and former UC academic Christopher Christopher Oze, UC Postdoctoral Researcher Vineet Shah, UC Nan Yang PhD student, UC Associate Professor Aaron Marshall and UC Associate Professor Matthew Matthew, Imperial College London Professor Chris Cheeseman and Barney Shanks.
What is Mg (OH) 2?
Magnesium hydroxide Mg (OH) 2 is a highly reactive substance which, when combined with carbon dioxide (CO) – one of the most important greenhouse gases on Earth – produces magnesium carbonates, inorganic salts used in a number of commercial products such as flooring, fire retardants and bricks.
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