US 12,486,585 B2
Carbon capture using electrochemically-produced acid and base
Ai Quoc Pham, Boulder, CO (US); Sandeep Nijhawan, Boulder, CO (US); Kevin Galloway, Boulder, CO (US); Adolfredo Alvarez, Boulder, CO (US); Philip Wagner, Boulder, CO (US); and Steven Fatur, Boulder, CO (US)
Assigned to ELECTRASTEEL, INC., Boulder, CO (US)
Filed by ELECTRASTEEL, INC., Boulder, CO (US)
Filed on Sep. 5, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/825,688.
Application 18/825,688 is a continuation of application No. 18/548,303, previously published as PCT/US2022/020796, filed on Mar. 17, 2022.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/301,288, filed on Jan. 20, 2022.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/173,000, filed on Apr. 9, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/162,254, filed on Mar. 17, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0425994 A1, Dec. 26, 2024
Int. Cl. C25B 1/20 (2006.01); C02F 1/461 (2023.01); C02F 101/10 (2006.01); C02F 103/08 (2006.01); C22B 3/10 (2006.01); C22B 3/12 (2006.01); C22B 21/00 (2006.01); C22B 26/10 (2006.01); C22B 26/22 (2006.01); C22B 61/00 (2006.01); C25B 1/22 (2006.01); C25B 9/19 (2021.01); C25B 9/70 (2021.01); C25B 15/08 (2006.01)
CPC C25B 1/20 (2013.01) [C02F 1/46104 (2013.01); C22B 3/10 (2013.01); C22B 3/12 (2013.01); C22B 21/0023 (2013.01); C22B 26/10 (2013.01); C22B 26/22 (2013.01); C22B 61/00 (2013.01); C25B 1/22 (2013.01); C25B 9/19 (2021.01); C25B 9/70 (2021.01); C25B 15/083 (2021.01); C02F 2101/10 (2013.01); C02F 2103/08 (2013.01)] 29 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
producing an acid and a base with an electrochemical acid-base generator;
dissolving a mineral in the acid to produce a mineral rich solution, wherein the mineral comprises iron, silica, of magnesium, aluminum, and calcium;
separating insoluble solids from the mineral rich solution to form a solids-depleted solution;
adding, in a first precipitation step, a first portion of the produced base to the solids-depleted solution to remove first impurities by precipitation, thereby forming a first impurity-depleted solution, wherein the first precipitation step comprises increasing the pH of the solids-depleted solution to a pH selected from the range of 3 to 5 thereby precipitating aluminum hydroxide;
adding, in a second precipitation step, a second portion of the base to the impurity-depleted solution until the pH of the impurity-depleted solution reaches a pH range at which a second precipitate product comprising ferrous hydroxide is precipitated, thereby forming an iron-depleted solution, and removing the ferrous hydroxide precipitate product from the iron-depleted solution;
adding, in a third precipitation step, a third portion of the base to the iron-depleted solution to raise the pH of the iron-depleted solution to precipitate magnesium hydroxide and/or calcium hydroxide to form a recovered salt solution, then separating the magnesium hydroxide and/or calcium hydroxide from the recovered salt solution; and
directing the recovered salt solution to the electrochemical acid-base generator to produce a new acid and a new base.