A feasibility study on CO2 sequestration using the neutralization process of acid mine drainage

초록

Among various technologies for capturing and storing CO<inf>2</inf>, mineral carbonation technology stores CO<inf>2</inf> by reacting natural minerals and industrial by-products containing a lot of Ca or Mg with CO<inf>2</inf>, and resultantly forming carbonate minerals. Mineral carbonation is one of the safest methods for the sequestration of CO<inf>2</inf> as thermodynamically stable carbonate minerals. As a method for CO<inf>2</inf> sequestration, this study utilized the neutralization process of mine drainage using hydrated lime. This method captures CO<inf>2</inf> through CO<inf>2</inf> injection into the neutralization process, resultantly forming calcium carbonate. The carbonation treatment was conducted using mine drainage collected from abandoned coal mines. The carbonation treatment of the neutralized mine drainage samples from three mine areas resulted in forming calcite precipitates of different amounts, and no additional environmental problems occurred through CO<inf>2</inf> injection into the mine drainage. The estimated capacity of CO<inf>2</inf> sequestration through the carbonation treatment of mine drainage from one mine area was of a considerable level (0.54 g CO<inf>2</inf>/kg mine drainage). Additionally, for CO<inf>2</inf> immobilization efficiency, it is necessary to estimate the optimum volume of CO<inf>2</inf> injection through thorough preliminary tests. Conclusively, CO<inf>2</inf> sequestration using the neutralization process of mine drainage can be evaluated as a positive technique in terms of sustainable development. © 2016 The Korean Society of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineers (KSMER).

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