Production of carbonate-containing compositions from material comprising metal silicates

• US 7,749,476 B2
• Filed: 07/10/2009
• Issued: 07/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arelac, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Calera Corporation
• Inventors: Brown, Gordon E. Jr., Omelon, Sidney, Farsad, Kasra, Ryan, Cecily, Fernandez, Miguel, Clodic, Laurence, Geramita, Katharine, Constantz, Brent R., Monteiro, Paulo, Tuet, Philip
• Primary Examiner(s): Leung; Jennifer A
• Application Number:
  US12/501,217
• Publication Number:
  US 20090301352A1
• Time in Patent Office: 361 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 423/430
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2251/402 of magnesium
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2251/404 of calcium
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2251/60 Inorganic bases or salts
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2251/602 Oxides
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2257/302 Sulfur oxides
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2257/404 Nitrogen oxides other than dinitrogen oxide
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2257/60 Heavy metals or heavy metal compounds
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/505 in a spray drying process
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/62 Carbon oxides
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 33/187 by acidic treatment of silicates
• CPC Class Codes: C01F 5/24 Magnesium carbonates
• CPC Class Codes: C01P 2004/60 Particles characterised by their size
• CPC Class Codes: C01P 2006/80 Compositional purity
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 14/26 Carbonates
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 28/006 containing mineral polymers, e.g. geopolymers of the Davidovits type
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 28/18 containing mixtures of the silica-lime type
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 28/26 Silicates of the alkali metals
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 7/02 Portland cement
• CPC Class Codes: Y02C 20/40 of CO2
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/129 Energy recovery, e.g. by cogeneration, H2recovery or pressure recovery turbines
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 40/10 : Production of cement, e.g. improving or optimising the production methods; Cement grinding

Abstract

Provided are methods for producing carbonate-containing compositions comprising silicon-based material (e.g., pozzolanic material) from a source of carbon dioxide, a divalent cation-containing solution, and a source of proton-removing agents. In such methods, divalent cations of the divalent cation-containing solution are provided by digestion of material comprising metal silicates. Also provided are methods for producing carbonate-containing compositions comprising little or no silicon-based material. In such methods, silicon-based material (e.g., silica, unreacted or undigested silicates, aluminosilicates, etc.) may be separated and processed separately from carbonate-containing compositions. Silicon-based material and carbonate-containing material may be blended at a later stage to produce a pozzolanic material, which may be further processed and blended with, for example, Portland cement.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

a) digesting a material comprising a metal silicate with an aqueous solution to produce divalent cations and a material comprising SiO₂;

b) reacting the divalent cations with dissolved carbon dioxide to produce a precipitation material in a precipitation reaction mixture; and

c) separating the precipitation material from the precipitation reaction mixture to produce a separated precipitation material and a supernatant,

wherein the method is performed in a system comprising;

a) a processor for processing the material comprising the metal silicate;

b) a precipitation reactor for precipitating the precipitation material, wherein the precipitation reactor is configured to receive carbon dioxide from an industrial source of carbon dioxide;

c) an electrochemical system comprising a cathode configured to generate hydrogen gas and an anode configured to generate protons from the hydrogen gas, wherein the electrochemical system is configured to transport hydrogen from the cathode to the anode; and

d) a liquid-solid separator for separating the precipitation material from the precipitation reaction mixture,

wherein the precipitation reactor is operably connected to both the processor and the liquid-solid separator, and

wherein the electrochemical system is operably connected to the processor, the precipitation reactor, or both the processor and the precipitation reactor.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising comminuting the material comprising the metal silicate prior to digesting the material comprising the metal silicate.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the material comprising the metal silicate comprises a rock or mineral.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein digesting the material comprising the metal silicate comprises digestion with an acid to produce an acidic solution comprising the divalent cations and the material comprising SiO₂.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the acid is selected from the group consisting of HF, HCl, HBr, HI, H₂SO₄, HNO₃, H₃PO₄, chromic acid, H₂CO₃, acetic acid, citric acid, formic acid, gluconic acid, lactic acid, oxalic acid, tartaric acid, ascorbic acid, and meldrums acid.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein digesting the material comprising the metal silicate comprises digestion with a proton-removing agent to produce a basic solution comprising the divalent cations and the material comprising SiO₂.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the divalent cations comprise alkaline earth metal cations.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein alkaline earth metal cations comprise Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, or a combination thereof.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising drying the precipitation material in a dryer.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method comprises a continuous, semi-batch, or batch process.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the precipitation reaction mixture is kept between 5°

C. to 70°

C. when reacting the divalent cations with dissolved carbon dioxide to produce a precipitation material in the precipitation reaction.

12. A system comprising:

a) a processor for processing a material comprising a metal silicate;

b) a precipitation reactor for precipitating a precipitation material, wherein the precipitation reactor is configured to receive carbon dioxide from an industrial source of carbon dioxide;

c) an electrochemical system comprising a cathode configured to generate hydrogen gas and an anode configured to generate protons from the hydrogen gas, wherein the electrochemical system is configured to transport hydrogen from the cathode to the anode; and

d) a liquid-solid separator for separating the precipitation material from a precipitation reaction mixture,

wherein the precipitation reactor is operably connected to both the processor and the liquid-solid separator, and

wherein the electrochemical system is operably connected to the processor, the precipitation reactor, or both the processor and the precipitation reactor.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the system is further configured with a dryer configured to receive a slurry comprising precipitation material from the liquid-solid separator.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the dryer is configured to utilize waste heat from the industrial source of carbon dioxide.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the dryer is configured to provide a heat-depleted industrial source of carbon dioxide to the precipitation reactor.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the dryer is a spray dryer.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the electrochemical system is configured to operate at an average voltage of 2.0 volts or less.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the electrochemical system is configured to not generate chlorine gas.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the electrochemical system is configured to not generate oxygen gas.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the electrochemical system is configured to not generate any gaseous byproduct.