Process intensification routes for mineral carbonation

Mineral carbonation is a realistic route for capture and storage of carbon dioxide. The principal advantages of this approach are the chemical stability and storage safety of mineral carbonates, the opportunities for process integration available, and the potential for conversion of low-value materials into useful products. In this work, the valorization of alkaline waste materials from thermal processes by mineral carbonation utilizing intensified and integrated mineral carbonation routes is explored. Process intensification aims at providing the paradigm-shifting techniques needed to revolutionize the chemical engineering industry in the twenty-first century, particularly focusing on improvements toward process efficiency, yield, and sustainability. The combination of process intensification and process integration strategies has the potential to produce economically feasible and industrially acceptable carbonation technologies that can soon be implemented large scale, several examples of which are already proven at laboratory scale and are herein discussed. (C) 2011 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd