Resource Efficiency

Michigan Technological University (MTU) will achieve a decrease of 10 wt% CO2 equivalent per tonne of ore processed compared with current methods for primary nickel extraction by a) storing CO2 in CO2-reactive minerals and b) recovering an additional 80% of energy-relevant minerals from nickel-bearing minerals in mine tailings. MTU will achieve these two major goals by developing accelerated carbon mineralization and carbon negative metal extraction technologies.

Missouri University of Science and Technology aims to establish a novel pathway to extract energy-relevant minerals, such as nickel and cobalt, from CO2-reactive and low-grade silicate feedstock (e.g., lean ore, mine waste, and geologic formations) via a novel pretreatment using a CO2- or biomass-derived organic acid that can dissolve silicates efficiently and liberate metals. The progressive dissolution will be followed by the precipitation of oxalate products, turning the bulky silicate rocks into micron-sized crystal particles and amorphous silica.

Columbia University will develop an integrated hydrometallurgical-electrochemical mining technology to increase energy-relevant mineral yields from CO2-reactive minerals. The technology incorporates an innovative stirred media mill reactor that minimizes comminution energy and improves leaching efficiencies and a new electrochemical refining processes using functionalized interfaces for selective separation of metals.

Coupled acid and base formation is a key part of the DAC and DOC cycle regeneration step. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will dramatically reduce acid/base production costs by developing advanced electrodialysis systems to split salt to enable electrochemical sorbent regeneration in contrast to the high-temperature, natural-gas-fired calcination step used today.

The Colorado School of Mines (Mines) will develop a novel technological solution and workflow to enable mining companies to quantitatively model the carbonation potential of entire ore deposits using cutting-edge X-ray fluorescence core scanning technology and advanced machine learning techniques. The project will demonstrate how the carbonation potential of a copper-nickel-platinum group element (Cu-Ni-PGE) deposit can be determined involving block modeling of the amount of CO2 that can be sequestered in situ in an ore body and its surrounding host rocks.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will advance in-situ and ex-situ techniques to determine the solubility and thermodynamic properties of various sodium rare earth element (REE) carbonates, REE (hydroxy)carbonates, REE phosphate, and REE (oxy)hydroxides in various solutions and pressures and temperature conditions, with or without the presence of carbon dioxide (CO2). The team will use the results to construct a database for optimizing conditions that efficiently recover energy-relevant minerals in red mud waste.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will develop the first integrated, comprehensive suite of methods to deliver a proprietary supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2)-based leaching fluid to mafic-ultramafic ores for in situ enhanced critical mineral (e.g., nickel, copper, and cobalt) recovery and CO2 sequestration. The project will increase the U.S. critical mineral supply chain by using existing horizontal drilling technologies to inject scCO2 to mine low-value mafic-ultramafic ores not typically mined.

The University of Nevada, Reno, aims to develop a new beneficiation process for energy efficient comminution and separation of rare earth elements (REEs) from domestic sources. The team will develop and test an accelerated reactive carbonation process integrated with ore sorting and high-pressure grinding rolls to enable improved mineral liberation, energy-efficient comminution (grinding), and enhanced separation of rare earth elements from low-grade bastnaesite-bearing ores.

Harvard University (Harvard) aims to advance nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques for CO2 reactive rocks to better determine carbonation potential and storage capacity by quantifying CO2 pore filling saturation based on pore size distribution and in-situ wettability. Mineralization reactions occur only in pores occupied by CO2; thus, understanding CO2 transport and distribution in rock porosities is key to efficient mineralization and sequestration.

Johns Hopkins University (JHU) will develop sustainable mining of critical elements from gangue minerals. The concept is based on the electrosynthesis of hydrochloric acid or HCl and base (sodium hydroxide or NaOH) via salt splitting and using renewable electricity as the power source. JHU will use the produced HCl to leach targeted metals from low-grade minerals and NaOH to react with CO2 and generate sodium carbonate (Na2CO3).