Transform CO2 into a valuable resource

Researchers at Aalto University have developed a pilot project to convert CO ₂ and slag, a byproduct of steel production, into a valuable mineral product.

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This product, called PCC - Precipitated Calcium Carbonate, is used in plastics, paper, rubber and paints. This innovative project represents a pre-commercialization phase of new CO ₂ recovery processes aimed at converting low value sub-products into a high value industrial resource.

The potential economic and environmental benefits of this new technology are enormous. "We are turning the byproducts of industrial solids from steel into a product that is 50 times more valuable," said Arshe Said, a graduate student at Aalto University. "In addition, this process actually consumes CO ₂ and acts as a container of environmentally friendly CO ₂ sinks."

Current PCC production methods require a large amount of limestone. "The conventional method associated with the mining activities and _CO2 emissions," Sanni Eloneva - a technology said.

High carbon emissions are under increasing pressure from agencies such as the European Union to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. "We believe this pilot project will help the efforts of those industries become consistent with the government's emissions and waste targets , " explains Mika Järvinen. .

In 2010, 13% of all European steel slags were dumped into landfills. "In theory, if all of this slag's calcium can be recovered, approximately 13 Mt PCC / year is produced, equivalent to almost 6 Mt CO ₂ / year," Järvinen continues.

The promising new technology also has other potential advantages. "We are currently exploring the possibility of extracting other valuable minerals from slag after calcium extraction," Said said.

The pilot PCC project is currently underway at Otaniemi, Aalto University. The method used in the pilot project is based on patents owned by the Aalto University Foundation along with Åbo Akademi and Rautaruukki Oyj (now part of SSAB).