Patent ID: 8728428

Claim:
A method for converting a portion of a carbonate to hydroxide, the method comprising: receiving an alkaline carbonate solution that comprises between 0.1M (moles per liter of solution) to 4.0M hydroxide and between 0.1M to 4.1M carbonate; reacting, in a slaking process, quicklime (CaO) and a low carbonate content fluid to yield a slurry of primarily slaked lime (Ca(OH) 2 ); reacting, via a causticization reaction, the Ca(OH) 2 slurry and the alkaline carbonate solution to produce hydroxide and grow calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) crystal aggregates of 0.0005 mm 3 to 5 mm 3 in volume in a fluidized-bed reactive crystallizer; conditioning the CaCO 3 crystal aggregates; and calcining the conditioned CaCO 3 crystal aggregates to yield CaO and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ).