Low-intensity carbon mineralization of northern Arizona volcanic mineral

Tattershall, Amy (2023) Low-intensity carbon mineralization of northern Arizona volcanic mineral. Masters thesis, Northern Arizona University.

Text Tattershall_2023_low-intensity_carbon_mineralization_northern_arizona_.pdf - Published Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (3MB) | Request a copy

Abstract

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most abundant greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. Negative emission technology, or systems that remove more carbon dioxide than produced, is a developing method for mitigating climate change. The CO2 removed in these processes has many sequestration options, but the most permanent is carbon mineralization. Carbon mineralization is inspired by the natural phenomena that occurs in the geologic carbon cycle in which carbonic acid reacts with metal cations in earth to create carbonates like limestone. In this study, carbon mineralization using virgin minerals retrieved locally from the San Francisco volcanic field was examined for carbon mineralization feasibility. The expenses associated with the current methods of carbon mineralization are due to the pre-processing and high intensity reaction conditions required to effectively carbonate minerals. To reduce those costs, the minerals in this experiment reacted under low-intensity conditions, namely ambient temperature (20oC) and pressure (79 kPa) over time. Carbon mineralization experiments of ground volcanic scoria and ground olivine were carried out under ambient conditions in a buffered saline solution. The work demonstrated 42% carbonation extent in these minerals after nine weeks—evidence provided by both thermogravimetric decomposition and x-ray diffraction (XRD). Evidence of siderite and dolomite decomposition at 700oC and 800oC, respectively, provided the same results between pure olivine and scoria carbonation: 10-13% carbonation extent after 32 days of reaction. The similarities between the olivine and scoria decomposition post-reaction at ambient conditions, the intrinsically high surface area of the volcanic minerals, and their high alkalinities indicate that these and similar volcanic samples are promising for accelerated geologic carbon sequestration.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	Carbon capture; Carbon mineralization; Low-intensity mineralization; Mineral Carbonation; Carbon sequestration; Arizona
Subjects:	T Technology > TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences > Mechanical Engineering
Date Deposited:	29 Jul 2026 20:24
Last Modified:	29 Jul 2026 20:24
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/6328

Actions (login required)

IR Staff Record View

Downloads