PROBLEM STATEMENT OBJECTIVE HYPHOTHESIS SCOPE SIGNIFICANT OF RESEARCH WITH SUPPORT PAPER

The amount of unused steel slag is expected to increment and steel Reviewing CO2 reduction by applying Mineral carbonation, a type of CCS is an extremely encouraging innovation to The amount of unused steel slag is Huijgen, W. J. J., Witkamp, G. J., & (1) The carbonation of Ca takes place in two subsequent steps
industries is one of the mechanical industries that contribute the CO2 emission mineral carbonation method on iron and moderate CO2 emission in air by storing carbon dioxide permanently with long term expected to increment later on, steel Comans, R. N. J. (2005). Mineral CO2 (i.e.,dissolution and precipitation) rather than by solid-
as this industry deliver carbon in light of powers reductant and substantial steel making slag in Malaysia stability and vast capacity. industries is one of the mechanical sequestration by steel slag carbonation. stateconversion. After the initial rapid carbonation of the
volume of steel. industries that contribute the CO2 Environmental Science and Technology, Ca(OH)2present in the fresh steel slag, calcium from the Ca
emission. Mineral carbonation method 39(24), 9676–9682. silicate phase diffuses toward the surface of the particle and
application for bringing down CO2 is subsequently leached. The Ca in solution is carbonated and
emission precipitates as calcite on the outer surface of the steelslag
particles. (2) Diffusion of Ca toward the surface of steel slag
particlesprobably determines the overall reaction rate at
temperaturesbelow an optimal conversion temperature (i.e.,
200°C forthe conditions presented). At higher temperatures or
lower CO2 pressures, a deficiency of dissolved CO2 results in
1 a decrease of the conversion. (3) The leaching of Ca results in a
withdrawing Ca silicate core surrounded by a Ca-depleted SiO2
phase. This SiO2 rim apparently hinders the diffusion of Ca from
the particle interior resulting in a declining reaction rate.

There are several CCS technologies namely biological storage
(photosynthesis, soil carbon stock, ocean life storage etc), geological
storage (underground or underwater), oil and gas reservoirs, enhanced oil
recovery, chemical fixation, membrane flash process, artificial weathering,
mineral carbonation and so on. The main concern of these techniques,
besides applicability of them, is the temporary storage capability. For
example, the CO2 gaswill stored in the sea, however about hundreds to
thousands of years it will come back to the atmosphere. W J J Huijgen et al
state, even though it has been brought out that the storage is not essentially be
2 perpetual [10]. The inquiry stays with respect to whether re-discharge of CO2
impacts future era. Extra shortcomings of ocean storage are the nearby change
of pH of the water and its instigated consequences for the earth.
Reviewing CO2 emmision by iron and Huijgen, W. J. J., & Comans, R. N. J.
steel making industries in Malaysia (2006). Carbonation of steel slag for CO2
sequestration: Leaching of products and
reaction mechanisms. Environmental
Science and Technology, 40(8), 2790–
2796.
Consideration of the major reactive Al-, Fe-, and Mn-
(hydr)oxide surfaces in steel slag, as well as possible surface
precipitation reactions, enables adequate modeling predic-tions
of oxyanion and trace metal leaching from both freshand
carbonated steel slag. Hence, these surfaces exert a major
influence on the environmental properties of both fresh
andcarbonated steel slag, which warrants their explicit consid-
eration in the environmental risk assessment of these
materials.

Most of the literature are focusing on the CCS in Malaysian forest soils, Huijgen, W. J. J., Ruijg, G. J., Comans, R.
power plant generation, renewable energy and policies [12-15] and the use N. J., & Witkamp, G. J. (2006). Energy
of steel slag in carbon capture and storage that may be extremely useful consumption and net CO2
for Malaysia particularly and all different nations in the world generally sequestration of aqueous mineral
carbonation. Industrial and Engineering
Chemistry Research, 45(26), 9184–9194.
3 efficiency was found for steel slag, 69%, mainly due to the lower
Increasing the carbonation rate of wollastonite or steel slag by
either grinding the feedstock, elevating the reaction temper-
ature, or increasing the CO2 partial pressure was shown to
alsoimprove the energetic CO2 sequestration efficiency. Within
theranges of process conditions studied, energetic optima
werefound between the carbonation degree and the associated
extra energy consumption, for both the temperature and the
CO2pressure. The maximum CO2 sequestration efficiency
for wollastonite at a liquid-to-solid ratio of 5 kg/kg and a
reactiontime of 15 min was 75% at 200°C, 20 bar CO2, and a
particlesize of<38Ìm. The grinding of the feedstock (CO2)-15%)
and the compression of the carbon dioxide (-7%) were
identified as the main energy-consuming process steps. At these
process conditions, a significantly lower CO2 sequestration
Ca content of the feedstock. Further grinding
(particularly,wollastonite) or reducing the CO2 partial pressure
(steel slag) can potentially improve the CO2 sequestration
efficiency. .

Most of the literature are focusing on the CCS in Malaysian forest soils, Huijgen, W. J. J., Witkamp, G. J., &
power plant generation, renewable energy and policies [12-15] and the use Comans, R. N. J. (2006). Mechanisms of
of steel slag in carbon capture and storage that may be extremely useful aqueous wollastonite carbonation as a
for Malaysia particularly and all different nations in the world generally possible CO2 sequestration process.
Chemical Engineering Science, 61(13),
4242–4251.
3 temperatures,a reduction of the bi(carbonate) activity probably
The aqueous carbonation mechanisms of wollastonite,olivine
and steel slag were shown to be generally similar. Wol-lastonite
carbonates rapidly compared to Mg–silicates, with a maximum
conversion in 15 min of 70% at relatively mild conditions (d<38
m,T=200◦C andpCO2=20 bar). At temperatures below the
optimum, the overall reaction rate is probably limited by the
leaching of Ca from wollastonite into the water phase, which is
suggested to be controlled by diffusion of Ca through a Ca-
depleted silicate rim formed by incongruent leaching. At higher
causesthe nucleation and growth of calcium carbonate to limit
theconversion.

Most of the literature are focusing on the CCS in Malaysian forest soils, Huijgen, W. J. J., Comans, R. N. J., & CO2 sequestration by current aqueous carbonation processes
power plant generation, renewable energy and policies [12-15] and the use Witkamp, G. J. (2007). Cost evaluation of seemsexpensive relative to other CO2 storage technologies. The
of steel slag in carbon capture and storage that may be extremely useful CO2 sequestration by aqueous mineral permanent and inherently safe sequestration of CO2 by mineral
for Malaysia particularly and all different nations in the world generally carbonation. Energy Conversion and carbonation may justify higher costs, but further cost reductions
Management, 48(7), 1923–1935. are required, particularly in view of (cur-rent) prices of CO2
3 emission rights.
 PROBLEM STATEMENT OBJECTIVE HYPHOTHESIS SCOPE SIGNIFICANT OF RESEARCH WITH SUPPORT PAPER

The implementation of of new solar energy conversion device Cuprous This study approached the simple
oxides (Cu2O) , doping this material is proved to be challenging as Cu2O has method of developing CuO thin films by
stability condition under limited range of temperature and pressure. Below thermal oxidation on pure Cu sheets.
400 ̊C, CuO is more stable than Cu2O [3]. After a sufficient expose time
to oxidation, CuO is formed [4]. This will result in poor mobility of
minority carrier and limited light absorption. However, this could be improved
by tuning the microstructure of Cu2O/CuO layer through heat treatment.
1 Sentra et. al. [6] studied the band gap energy of copper oxide film grown by
2 size.
For example, Musa et. al. [4] studied thethermal oxidation conditions on the
properties of plasma evaporation prefabricated cuprous oxide film. The mobility
ofminority carrier is reported improved for annealed samples. Johan et. al. [5]
studied the annealing effects on the properties of copper oxide thin film pre-
prepared by chemical deposition. The proportion of the two forms of copper
oxides was reported varies with oxidation temperature. They also reported that
photoluminescent intensity is greatly improved with the temperature increment.
plasma evaporation method. Band gap energy ofCu2O is higher than CuO and both
were indicated as p-type semiconductor.
Preparation of Cu2O/CuO film by The Cu2O film has mainly (111) and (200) crystalline orientations. Annealing the sample at
including annealing method 200 °C does not affect the composition. At temperature of 300 °C, two phases coexist: CuO
and Cu2O while above 400 °C,CuO prevails.
Johan, M. R., Suan, M. S. M., Hawari, N.
L., & Ching, H. A. (2011). Annealing
effects on the properties of copper oxide
thin films prepared by chemical
deposition. International Journal of
Electrochemical Science, 6(12), 6094–
6104. The dependence of grain size on temperature is demonstrated in Fig.3, a plot of grain size
as a function of temperature for copper oxide thin films. The grain size increased slowly at
first (from 52.3 μm to 65.5μm)whilst the grain size increased more rapidly after that
(from 65.5 μmto 97.6 μm). Grain growth rate increases more rapidly at higher
annealing temperature. This kinetics of grain growth trend was influenced by the grain

Films were found to be highly absorbing in the visible region and transparent in near-
infrared region with an average transmittance of about 70%. The trans-mittance of all
samples sharply decayed for wavelengths below700 nm. The reflectivity of the as-
deposited and 200-400 C annealed films were low and their spectra were relatively
similar.On the contrary, the peak of the reflectance curves increased athigher annealing
temperatures (500 C and 600 C). This could be simply attributed to enhanced scattering
3 with increased crystallitesize and surface roughness of the thin films.

Akgul, F. A., Akgul, G., Yildirim, N.,

Unalan, H. E., & Turan, R. (2014).
Influence of thermal annealing on
microstructural, morphological, optical
properties and surface electronic
structure of copper oxide thin films. It is evident that the surface morphology is improved through post-deposition
Materials Chemistry and Physics, 147(3), annealing.Isotropic and highly uniform nano-spherical grains could be observed for the
987–995. thin films annealed at 600 C, as opposed to film annealed at lower temperatures (not
shown here). Besides, nano-spherical grains were incorporated into bigger ones.

Jundale, D. M., Pawar, S. G., Patil, S. L.,
Chougule, M. A., Godse, P. R., & Patil, V.
B. (2011). Effect of annealing on
structure, morphology and
optoelectronic properties of
nanocrystalline CuO thin films. In AIP
Conference Proceedings (Vol. 1391, pp.
573–575).
The mean grain size increased with increased annealing temperature. As grain size
increased, the grain boundary density of a film decreased, subsequently, the
scattering of carriers at grain boundaries decreased. A continuous increase of
optical constants and also a shift in absorption edge to a higher wavelength with
increasing annealing temperature may be attributed to the improvement in the
crystalline quality of the films along with reduction in porosity. It is also found that
the optical absorption coefficient is larger for all the films (≈10 4cm-1). This may be
accounted for the fact that the quality of the CuO film improves when the sample
is annealed at a higher temperature.

Al-Kuhaili, M. F. (2008). Characterization
of copper oxide thin films deposited by
the thermal evaporation of cuprous
oxide (Cu2O). Vacuum, 82(6), 623–629.
CuO films were also subjectedto post-deposition annealing in air. Chemical
analysisindicated that only the as-deposited films on unheated substrates had dominant
Cu2O composition. Films depos-ited on heated substrates as well as annealed films had
apredominant CuO composition. The as-deposited filmswere amorphous with poor
transmittance in the visible and infrared. However, the annealed films were more
crystalline and had higher transparency

Gopalakrishna, D., Vijayalakshmi, K., &
Ravidhas, C. (2013). Effect of annealing
on the properties of nanostructured
CuO thin films for enhanced ethanol
sensitivity. Ceramics International, 39(7),
7685–7691.
Post-deposition annealing of the films was found to result in a predominant CuO phase in
the films. The average crystallite size was found to vary from ∼13to 17 nm with annealing.
The surface morphology studies revealed that the grain size increased after annealing,
andthe surface showed uniformly distributed cluster of grains which is confirmed from the
increase in roughness of the films with annealing.

Mahalingam, T., Chitra, J. S. P., Chu, J. P.,
Velumani, S., & Sebastian, P. J. (2005).
Structural and annealing studies of
potentiostatically deposited Cu 2O thin
films. Solar Energy Materials and Solar
Cells, 88(2), 209–216.
The intensity of (200) cubic phase increases with annealing temperature and it is found to
be maximum for a film annealed at 350 C. The grain sizes, on the other hand, are also
found to increase with annealing temperature and found to be 100nm for a typical film
annealed at 350 C. The band gap of Cu2 Ofilms is unaffectedby annealing treatment in air
at 350 C. However, annealing at 450 C showed the change in band gap.