Study of physicochemical relationships accompanying the process of mineral carbonation in basalt rocks from Poland

Abstract The aim of the research was to conduct a laboratory-simulated process of permanent CO 2 sequestration in igneous rocks. The process was conducted by ensuring optimal conditions of pH, temperature and pressure in an author’s own geochemical reactor. The structural characteristics of the rock allowed preliminary assessment of the effectiveness of the successive processes of dissolving minerals occurring in basalt and binding them into secondary minerals. The first process causes the formation of new pores and widening of the diameters of transport pores. The second one consists in partial building up of pore walls with precipitated carbonate minerals. As a result of the experiment, the value of the specific surface area decreased by 77% and the pore volume by 66%. Among the minerals that can bind with CO 2 to form carbonate minerals, after the experiment, a decrease in their content on the rock walls was noted in the range of 1.7-36.7%. The percentage content of magnesium, calcium and iron decreased by 1.7%, 8.5% and 36.8%, respectively, after the process. The content of magnesium and silicon, present in the minerals olivine and serpentine, was at the level of 3.5% and 17.4%, respectively.