SIMiDAC

Solar Induced Mineralisation integrated with direct air capture (SIMiDAC)

The project is part of the Carbon Lock Future Science Platform (FSP) consortium, aims to addressing the global production of approximately 7Gt/y of tailings as wastes and by-products of mineral extraction and beneficiation processes. A lack of targeted rehabilitation or amendment strategies can cause serious and long-term environmental impacts as result of ex-situ natural weathering and leaching of the tailings.

The objective of this project is to improve the value proposition of direct air capture (DAC) technology by closing the threesome loop of DAC-Solar-Mineral carbonation processes. This high-level of process integration will tackle one of the most significant engineering and environmental challenges in Australia and around the world through a multi-disciplinary, collaborative approach.

DAC is globally being recognised as the most effective negative emission technology, however, requires a downstream process to permanently lock the carbon and combat the high cost of its CO₂ product. Given the energy demand for both DAC and mineral carbonation processes is excessively high, sourcing this energy from fossil-fuel sources would notably undermine their feasibility and sustainability.

In this context, renewable solar solutions would effectively induce and accelerate the mineralisation process in the most sustainable way. Solarising the carbonation of the abundant but undervalued mineral assets in Australia using the CO₂ product from a scalable DAC process may provide a breakthrough in the technoeconomic and life cycle analysis of this threesome loop.

Our rehabilitation strategies focus on proper remediation of tailings by utilising atmospheric CO₂ to convert Mg/Ca silicate tailings into carbonated products. The ultimate goal is to create materials that can be used in low-risk non-reinforced concrete and aggregates or to support a stable and self-sustaining ecosystem after mine site closure.