Energy Storage in Earth-Abundant Dolomite Minerals

Abstract

Dolomite, a calcium magnesium mineral (CaMg(CO3)2), is considered an undesirable accompanying mineral in the phosphoric acid production process and, as such, large quantities of this mineral are available in Florida. This study is aimed toward the characterization of the high-concentration phosphatic dolomite pebbles (handpicked dolomites) received from the Florida Industrial and Phosphate Research Institute (FIPR) and investigate their feasibility for thermochemical energy storage (TCES). The chemical composition, structural and microstructural characteristics of commercial and handpicked dolomite minerals was studied using a variety of techniques such as X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and an automated mineralogy Automated SEM-EDX Mineralogy (or automated scanning electron microscopy) with energy dispersive X-rays spectrometer (SEM-EDX), which confirmed the phosphatic pebbles received contains dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) phase in a high percentage. Particle size and the surface area were measured using XRD and N2 adsorption, the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) methods. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to determine the activation energy for the calcination and re-carbonation reactions of the dolomite pebbles in nitrogen (N2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) atmospheres at temperatures up to 800 °C. The present results exhibit, for the first time, the potential for using abundant, high phosphatic concentration dolomite possessing long-term cycling behavior for thermochemical energy storage applications in Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants.