Metal Carbonation of Forsterite in Wet Supercritical CO2: The Role of H2O Studied by Solid State C-13 and Si-29 NMR Spectroscopy

Selected as a model mineral carbonation system for geological carbon sequestration in mafic host rocks, chemical mechanisms of forsterite carbonation in supercritical CO2 containing water varied from dry to well above saturation, including at saturation, were investigated by a combination of solid state NMR (C-13 SP-, CP-MAS, Si-29 SP-, CP-MAS), XRD, TEM and XPS. Run conditions were 80 degrees (C) and 75 bars. Major findings are as follows. At high water contents where a bulk aqueous solution coexisted with water-saturated scCO2, forsterite was converted into magnesite and a separate Mg-free amorphous SiO2 reaction product characterized by highly polymerized oligomeric Q4, and to a lesser extent by Q3 silica species. As the amount of added water was reduced, hydrated intermediate reaction products that did not evolve to magnesite could be identified until at zero water no reaction intermediates or magnesite carbonation products were observed. The intermediate reaction products identified were a complex mixture of partially hydrated/hydroxylated magnesium carbonate species and a variety of surface silica species with low polymerization extent. The intermediates were mainly in an amorphous state, forming a thin layer on the surface. Formation of these intermediate species consumes water by hydrolysis of Mg-O-Si linkages at the forsterite surface as well as by incorporation of water in the lattice. If insufficient water is available, the reaction is found not to proceed far enough to form magnesite and amorphous SiO2. Water in excess of this limit appears necessary for the intermediates to evolve to anhydrous magnesite, a process that is expected to liberate water for continued reaction. Hence, for a given fluid/forsterite ratio there appears to be a water threshold (i.e., the formation of H2O film with sufficient thickness estimated to be between 3.2 and 18.4 nm) above which a significant portion of the water is recycled in an apparent quasi-catalytic role for the carbonation process to proceed completely to magnesite. The findings have significant implications for understanding the kinetics and extent of mineral carbonation processes in low-water microenvironments relevant to GCS in mafic host rocks. At 149% initial saturation only a small amount of actual liquid water is present (H2O film of 3.2 nm). This water is rapidly consumed in the formation of intermediates and the reaction stops. If only slightly more liquid water is initially present (H2O film of 18.4 nm ) the reaction continues and at least 3 moles of forsterite react for every mole of initial liquid water.