Technologies Proven to Increase Carbon Capture Across Industries

Companies looking for ways to decrease their carbon footprint have multiple carbon capture and storage (CCS) solutions to evaluate, but it is sometimes difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. Some solutions are fully developed, while others are not practical, accessible, applicable or scalable.

In a panel session at the Global CCS Institute’s 10th Annual D.C. Forum in June, representatives from three companies with proven CCS technologies explained how their systems are at work today helping companies manage CO₂ emissions.

Expanding an established solution

Mike Belenkie, president and CEO of Entropy Inc., a Calgary, Alberta-based cleantech company, said his company is removing carbon from the air and putting it into the ground in a process he described as the inverse of CO₂ production.

“We don’t need a network of pipes to move CO₂ around the world. Straight down under your feet is always going to be the best solution.”—Mike Belenkie, Entropy Inc.

Industrial emissions are captured, scrubbed and separated so the carbon molecules can be captured and treated with proprietary solvent before being sequestered in a deep geologic repository.
 
The foundation of the technology was developed at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan in 1987. Now, using a solvent discovered in 2016 that Belenkie said is, “cheaper, smaller and uses less energy,” the company has brought the cost of the process down to less than $50 per metric ton (mt). 

The key to cost control is picking solutions that are local, he explained. 

“We don’t need a network of pipes to move CO₂ around the world,” Belenkie said. “Straight down under your feet is always going to be the best solution.”

According to Belenkie, Entropy is the largest developer of post-production carbon capture projects in the world, disposing of more than 10 megatons/year. 

Entropy has multiple projects under its belt and an interesting one on the way, Belenkie said, “the first project in the world in a gas-fired industrial emissions facility.” When Phase One is completed in first-quarter 2023, 50,000 mt/year of CO₂ will be captured and reinjected. By the end of the following year, the plant will have reached its full capacity of 200,000 mt/year, he said.

Scaling up capacity

Chad Badry, senior director business development of Svante, said the time is ripe for making strides in CCS, noting that with more than 130 countries making a net-zero pledge and more than 5,000 companies making net-zero a priority, the momentum has never been stronger for implementing CCS solutions.

“We realize we’ve got to get ready for the wave, so we’re putting about $100 million into a facility that is going to produce our structured sorbent beds.”—Chad Badry, Svante

The technology Svante has commercialized separates CO₂ from nitrogen contained in diluted flue gas, concentrates it and releases it for safe storage. The process uses a patented architecture of structured adsorbent laminate, a proprietary process cycle design, and a rotary mechanical contactor to capture, release and regenerate the adsorbent. The adsorbents catch and release CO₂ in less than 60 seconds.

“It’s a simple process with no volatile emissions,” Badry said.

The technology has been in use for several years at a small industrial facility in Saskatchewan, where it captures approximately 10,000 mt/year of CO₂. Svante is building a second-generation facility for Chevron in Bakersfield, Calif., and is investing heavily to ensure it has the necessary components to expand. 

“We realize we’ve got to get ready for the wave, so we’re putting about $100 million into a facility that is going to produce our structured sorbent beds,” Badry said. 

Mineralizing CO₂

Kristinn Ingi Lárusson, head of business development for Carbfix, explained his company’s unique geologic carbon storage method as, “a relatively simple process.” Using this solution, CO₂ is captured directly from the source.

This technology application uses only basalt water, and CO₂ in a process that he said, “replicates what Mother Nature has done for millions of years and speeds it up in a process that takes less than 24 months.”

“We think we have a tool in our hands that can significantly contribute in the global battle against climate issues.”—Kristinn Ingi Lárusson, Carbfix

The CO₂ is collected and dissolved in a water-intensive process that requires 25 parts water to 1 part CO₂. When the CO₂ is dissolved, it is injected into the ground at a pressure between 6 and 20 bar. The highly acidic carbonated water reacts with rock underground, where available cations such as calcium, magnesium and iron are released into the water stream. Over time, these elements combine with the dissolved CO₂ to form carbonates.

“We are literally turning CO₂ into stone,” Lárusson said. 

Applying what he described as a “fully natural solution,” Carbfix is delivering permanent storage with almost limitless storage capacity at a cost of less than $25/mt, he said.

At mid-year 2022, there were two commercial projects underway, with another scheduled to be up and running before year-end. Carbfix also is securing funding to build a storage site in Iceland called the Coda Terminal, where operations are expected to begin in 2026. Approximately 500,000 mt of CO₂ will be disposed of the first year, with 3 MMmt/year capacity anticipated in 2031.

“We think we have a tool in our hands that can significantly contribute in the global battle against climate issues,” Lárusson said.