Two-step CO2 Capture and Storage Technology using Seawater and Mineral Carbonation of Mine Water Pool of Sydney Coalfields

Our CBU Research Team is working with Net-Zero Atlantic under the NZA Program to develop a point-source carbon capture and storage technology that 1) uses a capture medium constituted from seawater and 2) employs a technique that permanently sequesters the captured carbon as metal carbonates using the contaminated water of flooded former mines. This work will focus on the decommissioned mines of the Sydney Coalfield in Cape Breton and aims to be an inexpensive, portable, and easy-to-use procedure for capturing CO2 at the source.

Coal mining in Cape Breton’s Sydney Coalfield lasted nearly three centuries, leaving behind ten abandoned and interconnected underground mines. These underground mines have been ?lled with roughly 190 million m³ of now contaminated water enriched in iron, sulphide, metals (e.g., calcium, magnesium and manganese), and metalloids, classifying it as acid mine drainage (AMD). Recent advances in CO2 sequestration have found that mineral carbonation, which involves a reaction between CO2 and divalent metallic elements such as calcium, magnesium, and iron, is the best and most energy-efficient option for permanently sequestering CO2. Hence, the mines of the Sydney Coalfield are an excellent candidate for the permanent sinking of CO2…

Faculty Supervisor:

Martin Mkandawire;Allison Mackie;Allen J. Britten

Student:

Partner:

Net Zero Atlantic

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Cape Breton University

Program: