SBIR Phase I: Predictive Tools for Characterizing Carbon Sequestration in Mined Materials

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的广泛影响为发现和实现在碳封存项目中利用矿山废石的机会提供了工具。该项目包括必要的研究和开发活动，以将对岩石风化的地球化学观察转化为采矿公司的综合工具包，以确定采矿过程中挖掘的地质材料将大气中的二氧化碳作为固体、地质稳定的碳酸盐矿物相固定的潜力。该服务将采用一种新的预测建模工具和一种确定特定地点数据的方法，以使模型参数化。拟议的项目将通过对硅酸盐矿物风化进行概念化的新框架来表征开采材料的固碳潜力。目前，还没有成熟的工具能够足够准确地描述这种潜力，以优化用于碳封存的岩石储存系统的设计。拟议的创新将包括将“收缩核心模型”的数学应用到反应传输框架中，以模拟扩散控制的硅酸盐矿物风化和随后的碳酸盐矿物沉淀。这项创新还包括一种新的应用矿山废物特性测试工作来识别多矿物组合的特定地点的反应动力学，以进行模型参数化。研究和开发活动包括风化的矿山废物和废物类似物的矿物表征、数学模型开发以及对已公布的和专有的动力学数据进行重新解释。工业部门将提供实验室和现场试验范围内开采材料风化的地球化学数据。该模型将用于预测田间试验中发生的封存速度。该模型的预测能力将通过与观测到的碳固存比率的比较来测试。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project provides tools to identify and realize opportunities to use mine waste rock in carbon sequestration projects. This project encompasses research and development activities necessary to translate observations on the geochemistry of rock weathering into a comprehensive toolset for mining companies to characterize the potential for geologic materials excavated during mining to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide as solid, geologically stable carbonate mineral phases. The service will employ a novel predictive modelling tool and a method for determining the site-specific data to parameterize the model. The proposed project will characterize the carbon sequestration potential of mined materials through a novel framework for conceptualizing silicate mineral weathering. Currently no established tools characterize this potential with sufficient accuracy to optimize the design of rock storage systems for carbon sequestration. The proposed innovation will include a novel implementation of mathematics of the “shrinking core model” into a reactive transport framework to simulate diffusion-controlled silicate mineral weathering and subsequent carbonate mineral precipitation. The innovation also includes a novel application of mine waste characterization test work to identify site-specific reaction kinetics of multi-mineral assemblages for model parameterization. Research and development activities include mineral characterization of weathered mine waste and waste analogues, mathematical model development, and re-interpretation of published and proprietary kinetic data. Geochemical data on the weathering of mined materials at the lab and field-test scale will be provided by industry. The model will be used to predict the rate of sequestration occurring at the field tests. The predictive skill of the model will be tested via comparison to observed carbon sequestration rates.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.