Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Aguila-Ames, Briana

Area of Concentration

Natural Sciences

Abstract

A Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer is a device that identifies an unknown substance, providing quick information about molecular structures based on nondestructive analysis of the sample's absorptions of infrared light, and in this study was used to analyze prevalent minerals found in underground rock formations, a key aspect of carbon mineralization and sequestration of carbon dioxide. While utilizing a software called OMNIC, we were able to create a library, where 34 known mineral compounds were analyzed and stored as reference material. Two main reasons why this library was created: FTIR is a fast, non-destructive technique that quickly identifies minerals, and the prevalent minerals found in underground rock formations are key to the carbon mineralization process, which is a method to store and sequester carbon dioxide. By developing a library of those compounds, we can match the mixed-composition samples to different natural minerals and their respective carbon mineralization products. Madagascar is known for its region of Cenozoic volcanic rock, which is primitive olivine melilites. Thus, we used Madagascar olivine (MADO), (Mg, Fe)2SiO4, and magnesite, MgCO3, the expected Mg-carbonate formed through carbon mineralization, for study with FTIR spectroscopy. Four samples with mixed compositions of MADO and magnesite, crystal structure confirmed with X-ray diffraction, were run through the FTIR and then compared to the library. What we found is that Pure MADO has the highest match to the olivine sample in the reference library. Each of the four mixed MADO magnesite samples also matched the olivine sample in the reference library, with the lowest percentage of magnesite matching at 89.1% and the highest magnesite percentage at 73.5%. Meaning the percentage match to MADO decreased as the magnesite percentage increased. Further, the second-lowest percentage of magnesite (1%) could be identified, which validates the spectral matching capability of the software for minor components of mixtures. This library will be useful for other students to match unknown samples, which will give them a step forward in rapidly identifying their compounds, particularly in the context of carbon mineralization processes.

Rights

The author has granted New College of Florida the nonexclusive right to archive, make accessible, and distribute for educational purposes this work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The copyright of this work remains with the author.

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