Methods that achieve descaling can work equally well for encouraging scaling by simply altering the conditions. After all, in chemistry, depending upon the application—whether in water treatment, metal recovery, or hydrate formation in cement—sometimes the goal isn’t to dissolve things… it is to make them fall out.

In our case, what we are interested in is dissolved inorganic carbon in water. The water could be the carrier agent post-Carbon Capture, or the hydrating agent in lower-Carbon or CO₂ hardened cement.

Total Dissolved Inorganic Carbon =
CO₂ + HCO₃^- + CO₃^2- + H₂CO₃
carbon dioxide + bicarbonate + carbonate + carbonic acid

To turn all the different forms of dissolved Carbon into Carbonate, there are six factors that are generally used individually or in combination to accelerate Carbonate precipitation and mineralization in most Carbon storage systems:

1. Increase pH

The solubility of many compounds depends on the concentration of hydrogen ions (H⁺) in solution. Changing the pH changes how compounds exist in water—sometimes flipping them from a soluble form to an insoluble one. Higher pH shifts bicarbonates toward carbonate ions (CO₃²⁻), which more readily binds with the metal ions. It also helps additives such as surfactants work better - more on this in a future blog post. Think of pH as a key lever for shifting compounds from “happy to stay dissolved” to “ready to leave the party” (precipitate).

Image credit: Pedersen et al. (2013)

As is evident, increasing CO₂ concentration in water increases acidity (lowers pH) through the formation of Carbonic acid.

CO₂ + H₂O ⇌ H₂CO₃

Adding alkaline agents help force carbonate and bicarbonate formation.

H₂CO₃ ⇌ HCO₃^- + H⁺
HCO₃^- ⇌ CO₃^2- + H⁺

2. Leverage Ideal Gas Law (PV = nRT)

pressure × volume = amount (moles) × ideal gas constant × temperature

As can be seen from the equation, increased heat and/or reduced pressure drives off dissolved CO₂, which reduces bicarbonate solubility and encourages carbonate formation. Heating CO₂ infused water from room temperature to 60–80 °C can cause rapid precipitation.

3. Increase CO₂ Concentration

CO₂ concentration in the carrier medium can be increased by lowering the temperature and/or increasing the pressure, which increases its carrying capacity. When it then comes time for precipitation, the supersaturated liquid can be coaxed into precipitating more CO₂ as carbonate.

4. Reduce Water Agitation

Still or slow-moving water lets localized supersaturation to develop, so crystals form and grow more easily.

5. Use Surfactants

Change the fluid dynamics of the dissolved CO₂ and the carrier so that more of the CO₂ can be dissolved in, as well as fall out when required based on how the surfactant is used - especially in combination with pH changes.

Different types of surfactants require different pH levels to operate optimally.

6. Seed the Surface

Provide a “starter crystal” to encourage nucleation. Dropping a piece of chalk, brucite or aragonite into the water can speed up deposition dramatically. This is a specialized variant around adding alkaline agents described towards the end of #1 (Increasing pH).

To the above six well-known levers, we can now add a seventh:

7. Use Mineraccel’s patent-pending special accelerator blend

In combination with one or more of the above levers, Mineraccel’s customized blend does the job faster and better than without.

In a nutshell, this means:

• Higher quantum of CO2 precipitated and mineralized

• CO2 precipitated and mineralized at a faster rate

• Increased strength and other performance characteristics in the case of cement

We will cover this performance differential in detail in part #2 of this post coming soon!

Over the past many months, we have pushed this science in ways we had not thought possible when we set out earlier this year. We have not only developed a customized solution that is fit for purpose, but we have also developed a methodology to optimize the customization so that what is delivered is unique to the requirements of each system in question.

Over the next many weeks and months, I will share posts on the different aspects of our approach, as well as the science. In this post, I will introduce the “WHY” of Mineraccel. In the world of millions of companies, is there a need for one more?

The Climate Deficit

According to most studies, we are vastly behind where we need to be to hit the Paris 1.5⁰C temperature increase target. The gap between realized and committed Carbon removal capacity is impossibly dwarfed by need.

Source: 2023 Annual Report Global CCUS Institute

For all the talk of ever increasing budget deficits (which is a concern), the accelerating climate deficit and all its related consequences are a forgotten casualty.

Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage Systems (CCUS) and DAC systems are generally extremely expensive, with Capex running into the hundreds of millions to billions of dollars, and typically complex to operate with their Opex also being extremely high.

Given this combination of extremely high Capex & Opex, and the unavailability of enormous funds to keep up with the need, Mineraccel was created to help existing CCUS, DAC and other carbon removal systems such as cement-based CO2 capture, to “do more” with less.

Doing more with less

Mineraccel’s extremely low-cost, high-impact solutions can increase capture/storage capacity by 10-20% and simultaneously increase the rate at which the CO2 is mineralized by 5-10% or more. That amount can fill some of the worldwide gap when adopted widely. And clients directly benefit from increased carbon credit revenues as well as tax breaks associated with this increase.

In some use cases, it potentially reduces energy use and maintenance costs, and in the case of lower-carbon cement, provides additional benefits such as increased strength, lower water usage, as well as enabling clinker substitution.

Our no-compromise values

Mineraccel’s solutions are customized to each system’s specific needs, since every system is different. They are low cost, as well as having an extremely low footprint in itself. Historically, there has been a temptation to use highly effective but toxic solutions in closed systems. We have developed biodegradable and renewable carbon chemistries that are just as efficacious, if not more so. We are not about creating problems for the future in the pursuit of solving current issues.

Please feel free to drop us a line with questions or feedback! We are invested in optimizing DAC, Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage Systems (CCUS), as well as other Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) capture systems. Their success and large scale adoption is critical in putting away the CO2 that we are generating more and more of.

Stay tuned!

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