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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number	EP/Y021592/1
Title	Mechanochemical processing of silicate rocks for direct carbon capture (MACO2)
Status	Started
Energy Categories	Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(CO2 Capture and Storage, CO2 storage) 100%;
Research Types	Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields	ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (General Engineering and Mineral & Mining Engineering) 10%; ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Civil Engineering) 85%; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences) 5%;
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation	Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator	Prof RJ (Rebecca ) Lunn No email address given Civil Engineering University of Strathclyde
Award Type	Standard
Funding Source	EPSRC
Start Date	01 February 2024
End Date	31 July 2027
Duration	42 months
Total Grant Value	£1,074,588
Industrial Sectors	No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Region	Scotland
Programme	NC : Engineering
Investigators	Principal Investigator	Prof RJ (Rebecca ) Lunn , Civil Engineering, University of Strathclyde (99.998%)
	Other Investigator	Professor ZK Shipton , Civil Engineering, University of Strathclyde (0.001%) Dr J Giesekam , Civil Engineering, University of Strathclyde (0.001%)
	Industrial Collaborator	Project Contact , The Weir Group plc (0.000%) Project Contact , Drax Power Ltd (0.000%) Project Contact , Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA (0.000%) Project Contact , Satarla (0.000%)
Web Site
Objectives
Abstract	This project aims to develop a new technology for capturing carbon into waste rock powders that are naturally formed during mining and aggregate production operations. We aim to use mechanochemical reactions, which occur during rock crushing, to permanently trap CO2 from industrial exhaust gases as a means of carbon capture. During crushing, energy is instantaneously released (as charged particles and photons) when the chemical bonds in the rock are broken. We use this mechanochemical energy to trap CO2. Our recent research, published in Nature Sustainability, showed that if you crush silica-rich rocks, such as granite and basalt, in CO2 gas instead of air, the CO2 can become permanently trapped, via a process of chemical sorption, within the crystal lattice of the crushed particles. This project will build on our early research. We will explore the effects of temperature, crushed particle size and initial rock water content on the amount of CO2 trapped per unit mass of crushed rock. We will also investigate gas stream composition. Our previous research used pure CO2: here we will crush rocks within realistic CO2-rich effluent gases from industries such as cement production, biomass power production, gas and hydrogen production from natural gas. We will evaluate the carbon savings from our technology using life cycle analysis. Finally, we will explore the potential for (1) the final rock powders to be used as a partial cement replacement product, and (2) co-production of valuable metals from the CO2-rich rock powders.This research project could have a major impact on our ability to meet net zero carbon targets by 2050. Worldwide, at least 40 billion tonnes of silicate-rich rocks are crushed every year by the mining and quarrying industries. If we can adapt current rock crushing processes to trap CO2, with very little extra energy expenditure (other than that used to transport the CO2), then this could be used to trap greenhouse gases from 'hard to decarbonise' industries. Based on our published early research findings, at least 0.4MtCO2 of thermally-stable and insoluble CO2 can be trapped for every 100Mt of saleable crushed aggregate. We estimate that, if this technology was developed and adopted worldwide, it could capture ~0.5% of global CO2 emissions, or 175MtCO2 annually: this is equivalent to the CO2 trapped by a mature forest the size of Germany.
Publications	(none)
Final Report	(none)
Added to Database	03/01/24