Carbonation of sulphate minerals for CO2 sequestration

Since industrial revolution, CO2 emissions from fossil fuel have increased to about 36Gt every year. This increases the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, which has led to the well-known climate change. Different techniques, methods and alternatives have been proposed to reduce the emissions of CO2 to the atmosphere. However, the use of fossil resources and, consequently, the CO2 emissions have been predicted to last for at least for 50 – 100 years. Therefore, CO2 capture and storage seems to be an unavoidable route and different methods have been proposed to reduce the amount of atmospheric CO2. Related to this, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie project CARS-CO2 is focused on the study of the mechanisms and kinetics that lead to the transformation of sulphate minerals in to carbonate minerals using carbonate-bearing solutions.

The internship will consist of participating in the experiments carried out in this project. Hence, the trainee will carry out different types of experiments. Some of them are listed here:
(I) Monitor the dissolution-crystallization reactions during the carbonation reactions using a reactor with a continuous liquid flow.
(II) Carbonate sulphate minerals at different temperatures in batch experiments.
(III) Study the final phases precipitated after the carbonation reactions.
(IV) Simulate the liquid-solid interaction using phreeqc code.

Moreover, he/she/they will analyze and discuss the results obtained during the internship.
We seek for an enthusiastic candidate (he/she/they) currently enrolled in a Master’s program in earth sciences, geochemistry or any other related topic (M2). The internship is expected to last for 4 months. We encourage candidates with interest in mineral precipitation and solid-liquid interactions. Please provide CV and letter of motivation. Potential candidates must be able to communicate in English.