Carbonate Formation in Non-Aqueous Environments by Solid-Gas Carbonation of Silicates

TL;DR

This study investigates carbonate formation in non-aqueous environments by exposing synthetic cosmic silicates to CO2, using advanced real-time diffraction and spectroscopic techniques to understand solid-gas carbonation processes.

Contribution

It introduces a novel experimental setup combining synchrotron X-ray diffraction with a gas cell to study carbonate formation in synthetic silicates under non-ambient conditions.

Findings

Real-time diffraction reveals carbonate formation dynamics.

Spectroscopic analysis confirms carbonate mineral presence.

Silicate composition influences carbonation efficiency.

Abstract

We have produced synthetic analogues of cosmic silicates using the Sol Gel method, producing amorphous silicates of composition Mg(x)Ca(1-x)SiO3. Using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction on Beamline I11 at the Diamond Light Source, together with a newly-commissioned gas cell, real-time powder diffraction scans have been taken of a range of silicates exposed to CO2 under non-ambient conditions. The SXPD is complemented by other techniques including Raman and Infrared Spectroscopy and SEM imaging.