The fixation of CO2 in the form of inorganic carbonates, also known as mineral carbonation, is an interesting option for the removal of carbon dioxide from various gas streams. The captured CO2 is reacted with metal-oxide bearing materials, usually naturally occurring minerals. The alkaline industrial waste, such as fly ash can also be considered as a source of calcium or magnesium. In the present study the solubility of fly ash from conventional pulverised hard coal fired boilers, with and without desulphurisation products, and fly ash from lignite fluidised bed combustion, generated by Polish power stations was analysed. The principal objective was to assess the potential of fly ash used as a reactant in the process of mineral carbonation. Experiments were done in a 1 dm3 reactor equipped with a heating jacket and a stirrer. The rate of dissolution in water and in acid solutions was measured at various temperatures (20 - 80ºC), waste-to-solvent ratios (1:100 - 1:4) and stirrer speeds (300 - 1100 min-1). Results clearly show that fluidised lignite fly ash has the highest potential for carbonation due to its high content of free CaO and fast kinetics of dissolution, and can be employed in mineral carbonation of CO2.

Thermodynamic principles for the dissolution of gases in ionic liquids (ILs) and the COSMO-SAC model are presented. Extensive experimental data of Henry’s law constants for CO2, N2 and O2 in ionic liquids at temperatures of 280-363 K are compared with numerical predictions to evaluate the accuracy of the COSMO-SAC model. It is found that Henry’s law constants for CO2 are predicted with an average relative deviation of 13%. Both numerical predictions and experimental data reveal that the solubility of carbon dioxide in ILs increases with an increase in the molar mass of ionic liquids, and is visibly more affected by the anion than by the cation. The calculations also show that the highest solubilities are obtained for [Tf2N]ˉ. Thus, the model can be regarded as a useful tool for the screening of ILs that offer the most favourable CO2 solubilities. The predictions of the COSMOSAC model for N2 and O2 in ILs differ from the pertinent experimental data. In its present form the COSMO-SAC model is not suitable for the estimation of N2 and O2 solubilities in ionic liquids.