Carbon neutral materials from CO₂ sequestration: The mineral carbonation option

CO₂ sequestration by mineral carbonation (MC) is a technology that can potentially sequester billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) per year. However, MC is currently limited by its high costs. The successful development of post processing routes creating marketable carbon neutral products could help the deployment of mineral carbonation. The selected MC technology will play an important role on the products created, available post-processing routes and accessible markets if the resultant materials are of high purity. Typically, MC technology produces slurries that are difficult to re-use. However, recent development of the MC technology namely 'aqueous carbonation by pH swing' is able to separate the different product streams (carbonates, silica, iron oxides) enhancing the possibilities to re-use these materials. This assessment indicates that low-value applications, such as fill for land reclamation, may represent the only viable opportunity at the current state of the technology.