Nano-Structured Calcium Silicate

Abstract

The condensation of silica to form hard scale is a major issue in the generation of energy from geothermal resources. Presented here is nano-structured calcium silicate (NCS) as a solution to this issue. NCS prevents the unwanted silica deposition by formation of a competing product, which is highly porous and interesting for various applications in materials science. While the suppression of the formation of silica scale is the main benefit of applying NCS technology to geothermal water, spill-over benefits from the production of NCS are significant. NCS can be used as a filler to partially replace TiO2 pigments and act as a flattening agent in paints. NCS can be coated on paper to improve ink-jet print quality and be incorporated in the paper sheet to reduce print-through. NCS can be used as an ingredient of ceramics and concrete, a photoactive material, a catalyst carrier and to treat environmental hazards by the sorption of ionic species and gases.