Forced Mineral Carbonation of MgO Nanoparticles Synthesized by Aerosol Methods at Room Temperature

Magnesium oxide (MgO) has been investigated as a wet mineral carbonation adsorbent due to its relatively low adsorption and regeneration temperatures. The carbon dioxide (CO(2)) capture efficiency can be enhanced by applying external force on the MgO slurry during wet carbonation. In this study, two aerosol-processed MgO nanoparticles were tested with a commercial MgO one to investigate the external force effect on the wet carbonation performance at room temperature. The MgO nano-adsorbents were carbonated and sampled every 2 h up to 12 h through forced and non-forced wet carbonations. Hydrated magnesium carbonates (nesquehonite, artinite and hydromagnesite) were formed with magnesite through both wet carbonations. The analyzed results for the time-dependent chemical compositions and physical shapes of the carbonation products consistently showed the enhancement of wet carbonation by the external force, which was at least 4 h faster than the non-forced carbonation. In addition, the CO(2) adsorption was enhanced by the forced carbonation, resulting in a higher amount of CO(2) being adsorbed by MgO nanoparticles than the non-forced carbonation, unless the carbonation processes were completed. The adsorbed amount of CO(2) was between the maximum theoretical amounts of CO(2) adsorbed by nesquehonite and hydromagnesite.