EARLY RESULTS FROM A LABORATORY-SCALE PILOT-PLANT DEMONSTRATION OF ENZYME-CATALYZED CO_2 SEQUESTRATION WITH PRODUCED WATERS AS CATION SOURCE

摘要

The objective of the present work is to develop a system resembling a CO_2 scrubber that can provide a route to safe, long-term sequestration of CO_2 from, for example, fossil-fuel-burning power plants. In the system envisaged, a biological catalyst, carbonic anhydrase, catalyzes the rate of CO_2 hydration for subsequent fixation into stable mineral carbonates, the counterions for which may be supplied from such sources as brines from saline aquifers, waste brines from a variety of sources, or seawater. Feasibility of the approach has been demonstrated, and the emphasis is now on development of the approach into a chemical engineering reality. The focus in this paper is on the scale-up from bench-scale to laboratory-scale demonstrations, and the potential of produced waters from the oil and gas industry as sources of cations.