In the context of the decarbonisation of the building sector, this work focuses on the process economics of a carbon capture and utilization alternative for the production of a novel construction material based on magnesium carbonate trihydrate, also known as nesquehonite. This material, after a dehydration-rehydration process, can be conformed into moulds with a significant compressive strength in a very similar mechanism to plasterboard manufacturing. This paper discloses the mass and energy balance of the whole process, where the carbon dioxide is captured from flue gas using aqueous alkaline absorption, and magnesium is sourced from desalination brines. The geographical scope of the economic assessment is the Middle East, specifically Qatar, where desalination and power generation are commonly coupled, and where the huge volume of construction materials imports provide an excellent framework for the development of competitive nesquehonite-based products. In fact, although the process economics show high operating costs, the final product would be economically competitive in the Qatari market at a unit cost around USD 410 per tonne, which is achievable at large scale. The sensitivity analysis shows that both alkali source and the process performance are key aspects of process economics.

在建筑行业脱碳的背景下，这项工作侧重于碳捕集和利用替代品的生产方法经济学，该方法可用于生产基于三水合碳酸镁的新型建筑材料，也称为水镁石。经过脱水-再水化处理后，该材料可以以与石膏板制造非常类似的机制，被制成具有显着抗压强度的模具。本文揭示了整个过程的质量和能量平衡，其中使用碱性水溶液吸收从烟道气中捕集二氧化碳，而镁则来自淡化盐水。经济评估的地理范围是中东，特别是卡塔尔，那里海水淡化和发电通常是结合在一起的，大量的建筑材料进口为开发具有竞争力的水松石基产品提供了一个极好的框架。实际上，尽管过程经济学显示出较高的运营成本，但最终产品在卡塔尔市场上仍具有经济竞争力，其单位成本约为每吨410美元，这可以大规模实现。敏感性分析表明，碱源和工艺性能都是工艺经济学的关键方面。