Isoconversional kinetic modeling and in-situ synchrotron powder diffraction analysis for dehydroxylation of antigorite

Mineral carbonation offers permanent and safe disposal of anthropogenic CO2. Well distributed and abundant resources of serpentine minerals and natural weathering of these mineral to stable and environmentally benign carbonates favour the exploitation of these minerals as the most suitable raw material for mineral carbonation. However, slow dissolution kinetics are impeding the large scale implementation of mineral carbonation. Heat treatment of serpentine minerals results in enhanced reactivity for subsequent carbonation processes at the expense of an additional energy penalty4. Heat treatment of these minerals results in the removal of structurally bound hydroxyl groups which leads to partial amorphisation of the structure and enhanced reactivity. Therefore, understanding the role of the mineralogical changes during dehydroxylation and determination of activation energy (Ea) is crucial for providing an energy efficient solution for commercialisation of mineral carbonation..