As compared with other candidate carbon sequestration technologies, mineral carbonation offers the unique advantage of permanent disposal via geologically stable and environmentally benign carbonates. The primary challenge is the development of an economically viable process. Enhancing feedstock carbonation reactivity is key. Heat activation dramatically enhances aqueous serpentine carbonation ...

[1] Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analyses of B and Li in serpentinized peridotites from the Feather River Ophiolite (California) indicates that B is enriched in serpentine minerals compared to the whole-rock and less altered olivine grains, while Li in serpentine is depleted or comparable to whole-rock Li. The high B contents of serpentine minerals cor...

Rauwolfia species (Apocynaceae) are medicinal plants well known worldwide due to its potent bioactive monoterpene indole alkaloids (MIAs) such as reserpine, ajmalicine, ajmaline, serpentine and yohimbine. Reserpine, ajmalicine and ajmaline are powerful antihypertensive, tranquilizing agents used in hypertension. Yohimbine is an aphrodisiac used in dietary supplements. As there is no report on t...

expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of DOE. Phytoremediation is an integrated multidisciplinary approach to the cleanup of contaminated soils, which combines the disciplines of plant physiology, soil chemistry, and soil microbiology. Metal hyperaccumulator plants are attracting increasing attention because of their potential application in decont...

The Problem: The problem is to design an autonomous mobile robot that is self-assembling from independently mobile segments. We choose a design inspired by the constitution and motion of snakes or worms. In such a construction, the body of the robot is segmented and each segment can be designed as an autonomous entity, which is able to move and couple with other segments. Several of these segme...

The current low-cost process for mineral carbonation involves the direct carbonation of a slurry of magnesium or calcium silicate mineral with supercritical CO2. The process is currently limited by the slow reaction kinetics of the carbonation reactions, and in particular the slow dissolution rates of the silicates in weakly acidic conditions. Enhancing the dissolution rate in weakly acidic con...

This paper describes the design and performance of the OmniTread serpentine robot, developed at the University of Michigan. Serpentine robots are mobile robots that comprise of multiple rigid segments, connected by actuated joints. The segments usually have drive elements, such as wheels or tracks. To date, we have developed two versions of the OmniTread. The larger version, called “OT-8,” has ...