University of Alberta research team develops way to improve mining yields with CO2

A University of Alberta researcher has found a way to remove CO2 from the atmosphere while mining critical metals needed for renewable energy infrastructure.

Sasha Wilson, professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, explains this new process stems from the fact that nickel mines currently throw out a third of the nickel they mine as waste because it’s in a form that’s not recoverable.

Wilson’s team was able to transform these tailings into artificial nickel laterites — a type of old, weathered soil formed by minerals breaking down over millions of years.

The creation of these laterites fast-tracks the process of the rocks breaking down from millions of years to just a few days.

Wilson adds the technique involves a neutralization reaction similar to the vinegar and baking soda volcanoes familiar to young science students. The acid dissolves the nickel and concentrates into rust, which is where the carbon sequestration process takes place.

“The nickel’s in the rust, and all the magnesium and calcium we need to trap carbon dioxide just falls out the bottom and we bind it with CO2 from the air,” says Wilson. “Some mining companies are looking to the type of technologies we’re developing to start mining CO2 from the air and offer CO2 removal as a service, which is really cool.”

Nickel is particularly relevant to Alberta and the growing hydrogen economy, as a lot of nickel is needed to process and store hydrogen.

Wilson’s international team recently received a $2.8-million grant from the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment that will allow them to demonstrate the process on a pre-industrial scale. By testing the method on a larger scale, they will streamline the process as well as measure how much time and energy it takes. Next steps will involve finding industry partners to pilot the process in existing mines.

“If you can have more efficient mines that produce less waste for the amount of resource you extract — that’s a nice benefit,” notes Wilson