XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3 291
With mining companies focusing on improving the
process energy efficiencies, certain companies transitioning
from diesel to natural gas power generation to reduce their
emissions and electrifying their fleet, and continuously
developing flowsheets to maximize the grade and recovery
of nickel, all these efforts are still not enough to reduce the
emissions to the target of achieving net zero emissions by
2050. Therefore, additional efforts need to be considered in
order to capture and sequester the emissions, and this can
be done through the development of CO2 sequestration in
nickel processing technology.
THE NEED FOR CO2 SEQUESTRATION
TECHNOLOGIES
The technologies for CO2 capture, either using greener
amine solvents (Entropy Inc., Aker Carbon Capture, Flour,
Shell) or Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) (Svante), are
in advanced development or commercial phase although
the cost economics in $/t CO2 captured is not known.
With several CO2 capture companies around, the need is
for routes and technologies to sequester and utilize the cap-
tured CO2 in industries (Joppa et al., 2021).
In CCS Institute’s 2023 publication, a discernible
trend emerges in the domain of carbon capture and stor-
age (CCS) technologies. Most of these technologies are
currently concentrated on carbon dioxide (CO2) capture,
with a relatively smaller focus on CO2 sequestration strate-
gies. This disparity can be attributed to two primary fac-
tors. Firstly, the capture of CO2 remains a costly endeavor,
as indicated by the absence of detailed cost analysis in the
current literature, highlighting the need for ongoing devel-
opment in this sector. Secondly, the predominant approach
to CO2 sequestration presently hinges on the subsurface
injection methodology, a practice that involves the perma-
nent storage of CO2 in geological formations. Although
it is technically feasible, it comes with its own challenges,
such as requiring specific geological limitations, which
may make it an unsuitable solution, as it frequently calls
for particular geological conditions and close monitor-
ing. Subsurface injection can also encounter considerable
obstacles to wider adoption due to public perception. The
development of novel and diversified CO2 sequestration
technologies is necessary to tackle these issues and move
towards a more comprehensive and efficient approach to
managing carbon emissions. In addition, the technologies
for CO2 sequestration should be able to improve the over-
all sustainability and financial feasibility of carbon capture
and utilization. Thus, the need to develop CO2 utilization
and sequestration technologies is more crucial to achieve
net zero emissions (NZEs) by 2050.
Some of the CO2 sequestration technologies that are
still in infancy but show potential for scaling up at the
commercial scale are electro-/photo-reduction of CO2 to
chemicals, where both processes aim to convert CO2 into
valuable chemicals using electricity and light source. More
mature and tested technology for CO2 sequestration is
storing CO2 under geological formations through its in-
situ mineralization. Initially, in the 1970s, CO2 injection
was used in oil fields to enhance the oil recovery, which
became a well-tried and tested technology.(Clifford, 2021)
Later the CO2 subsurface injection technology was consid-
ered for climate mitigation efforts which helped transition
the knowledge in oil industry towards permanently storing
CO2. A recently developed offshoot of CO2 mineralization
technology is the ex-situ CO2 mineralization in alkaline
industrial wastes derived from similar geological formations
as in-situ CO2 subsurface storage. Currently, around 40
commercial carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS)
facilities support industrial processes such as subsurface
injection and other processes such as fuel transformation
and power generation (“Carbon Capture, Utilisation and
Storage -Energy System,” n.d.). As the rocks containing
serpentine are utilized for ex-situ CO2 mineralization, they
also contain valuable metals such as nickel. This provides
an opportunity to extract nickel while sequestering CO2,
thus making the process commercially viable and poten-
tially supporting the mining industry.
Our study discusses the possible routes for incorporat-
ing CO2 sequestration in nickel processing. Additionally,
we provide routes for utilizing this CO2 to improve the
existing processes and add value—either through enhanced
metal recovery or by the creation of sellable carbonation
by-products such as magnesite and silica.
STRATEGIES FOR A ROBUST OVERALL
CCUS DEVELOPMENT
Current State of CCUS
Industry dependence on carbon capture and storage (CCS)
technology is growing because of the imposition of carbon
taxes in certain countries. The overall situation of CCS and
the technological developments in this space are:
1. Attempts to Reduce Costs: Carbon capture com-
panies are actively re-engineering their first dem-
onstration plants, which are presently more like
functional prototypes. Their main objective is to
bring down the price of carbon dioxide (CO2) cap-
ture. The goal of these initiatives is to reduce the
CCS cost overall in a way that its implementation
With mining companies focusing on improving the
process energy efficiencies, certain companies transitioning
from diesel to natural gas power generation to reduce their
emissions and electrifying their fleet, and continuously
developing flowsheets to maximize the grade and recovery
of nickel, all these efforts are still not enough to reduce the
emissions to the target of achieving net zero emissions by
2050. Therefore, additional efforts need to be considered in
order to capture and sequester the emissions, and this can
be done through the development of CO2 sequestration in
nickel processing technology.
THE NEED FOR CO2 SEQUESTRATION
TECHNOLOGIES
The technologies for CO2 capture, either using greener
amine solvents (Entropy Inc., Aker Carbon Capture, Flour,
Shell) or Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) (Svante), are
in advanced development or commercial phase although
the cost economics in $/t CO2 captured is not known.
With several CO2 capture companies around, the need is
for routes and technologies to sequester and utilize the cap-
tured CO2 in industries (Joppa et al., 2021).
In CCS Institute’s 2023 publication, a discernible
trend emerges in the domain of carbon capture and stor-
age (CCS) technologies. Most of these technologies are
currently concentrated on carbon dioxide (CO2) capture,
with a relatively smaller focus on CO2 sequestration strate-
gies. This disparity can be attributed to two primary fac-
tors. Firstly, the capture of CO2 remains a costly endeavor,
as indicated by the absence of detailed cost analysis in the
current literature, highlighting the need for ongoing devel-
opment in this sector. Secondly, the predominant approach
to CO2 sequestration presently hinges on the subsurface
injection methodology, a practice that involves the perma-
nent storage of CO2 in geological formations. Although
it is technically feasible, it comes with its own challenges,
such as requiring specific geological limitations, which
may make it an unsuitable solution, as it frequently calls
for particular geological conditions and close monitor-
ing. Subsurface injection can also encounter considerable
obstacles to wider adoption due to public perception. The
development of novel and diversified CO2 sequestration
technologies is necessary to tackle these issues and move
towards a more comprehensive and efficient approach to
managing carbon emissions. In addition, the technologies
for CO2 sequestration should be able to improve the over-
all sustainability and financial feasibility of carbon capture
and utilization. Thus, the need to develop CO2 utilization
and sequestration technologies is more crucial to achieve
net zero emissions (NZEs) by 2050.
Some of the CO2 sequestration technologies that are
still in infancy but show potential for scaling up at the
commercial scale are electro-/photo-reduction of CO2 to
chemicals, where both processes aim to convert CO2 into
valuable chemicals using electricity and light source. More
mature and tested technology for CO2 sequestration is
storing CO2 under geological formations through its in-
situ mineralization. Initially, in the 1970s, CO2 injection
was used in oil fields to enhance the oil recovery, which
became a well-tried and tested technology.(Clifford, 2021)
Later the CO2 subsurface injection technology was consid-
ered for climate mitigation efforts which helped transition
the knowledge in oil industry towards permanently storing
CO2. A recently developed offshoot of CO2 mineralization
technology is the ex-situ CO2 mineralization in alkaline
industrial wastes derived from similar geological formations
as in-situ CO2 subsurface storage. Currently, around 40
commercial carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS)
facilities support industrial processes such as subsurface
injection and other processes such as fuel transformation
and power generation (“Carbon Capture, Utilisation and
Storage -Energy System,” n.d.). As the rocks containing
serpentine are utilized for ex-situ CO2 mineralization, they
also contain valuable metals such as nickel. This provides
an opportunity to extract nickel while sequestering CO2,
thus making the process commercially viable and poten-
tially supporting the mining industry.
Our study discusses the possible routes for incorporat-
ing CO2 sequestration in nickel processing. Additionally,
we provide routes for utilizing this CO2 to improve the
existing processes and add value—either through enhanced
metal recovery or by the creation of sellable carbonation
by-products such as magnesite and silica.
STRATEGIES FOR A ROBUST OVERALL
CCUS DEVELOPMENT
Current State of CCUS
Industry dependence on carbon capture and storage (CCS)
technology is growing because of the imposition of carbon
taxes in certain countries. The overall situation of CCS and
the technological developments in this space are:
1. Attempts to Reduce Costs: Carbon capture com-
panies are actively re-engineering their first dem-
onstration plants, which are presently more like
functional prototypes. Their main objective is to
bring down the price of carbon dioxide (CO2) cap-
ture. The goal of these initiatives is to reduce the
CCS cost overall in a way that its implementation