Comparison of two processes forming CaCO3 precipitates by electrolysis

Abstract

As one of the carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies, mineral carbonation which has been introduced to reduce the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere is a technology that makes it possible to capture CO2 and recycle byproducts as resources. However, existing mineral carbonation requires additional energy and costs, as it entails high temperature and high pressure reaction conditions. This study compared two processes which electrolyze NaCl and CaCl2 solution to produce CO2 absorbent needed to generate CaCO3, and which were conducted at room temperature and pressure unlike existing mineral carbonation. As a result, high-purity calcite was obtained through Process 1 using NaCl solution, and aragonite and portlandite were obtained in addition to calcite through Process 2 (two steps) using CaCl2 solution.