Electrochemical olivine dissolution and carbonation

Given that humankind is essentially facing its largest threat of rising anthropogenic CO₂ levels and the associated risks of severe climate events, one can foresee immense innovation in the field of developing carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies that are both economically viable and rapidly scalable globally. One such process is mineral carbonation, that aims to accelerate the rate of carbonation fast enough to contribute to mitigate climate-change. Mineral carbonation, in general terms, is an accelerated form of weathering of naturally occurring silicates that are abundant in nature; and proceeds through the reaction of CO₂(gaseous, liquid, supercritical) with mafic or ultramafic rocks containing high concentrations of divalent cations such as Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Fe²⁺, to form their respective stable carbonates. For mineral carbonation to take place, 

In this regard, the goal of the project is to develop an electrochemical technique to study the dissolution of olivine and other Mg-silicate minerals. The student will be tasked to perform electrochemical experiments in the laboratory and vary parameters such as external current, solution chemistry, particle sizes to allow for enhanced dissolution of olivine and other Mg-silicate bearing minerals. The concentrations of different ions in solution will be measured using ICP, and precipitates will be characterized using X-ray diffraction. If time and interest permit, dissolution rates will be derived, and thermodynamic simulations will be carried out.