Carbon engineering

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Carbon Engineering Ltd.
legal form
Seat Squamish , British Columbia , Canada
management Steve Oldham
David Keith (Founder)
Dan Friedmann, Board Chair
Branch Oil industry, CCS, environmental technology
Website carbonengineering.com

Carbon Engineering is a Canadian clean energy company focused on the commercialization of direct air capture (DAC) technology, which captures carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) directly from the air in the atmosphere.

This captured CO 2 can either be stored underground in so-called carbon capture and storage (CCS) or converted into CO 2 -neutral synthetic fuel , if produced by using renewable energy sources , as the company calls it “ air to fuel” .The company has been operating a pilot plant in Squamish (British Columbia) since 2015 to remove CO 2 from the atmosphere and convert it into fuel since December 2017.

The company was founded in 2009 by David Keith , now Professor of Public Policy and Applied Physics at Harvard University , and is now led by Steve Oldham, former senior vice president of strategic business development at MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates.

Carbon Engineering is funded by several government and sustainability-focused agencies as well as private investors, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates and oil sands financier N. Murray Edwards. Additionally, around 2019, the company received $ 68 million from oil companies such as Chevron and Occidental Petroleum , and BHP Billiton .

technology

Carbon Engineering's DAC process integrates two main cycles. The first cycle is the absorption of CO 2 from the atmosphere in a device called an "air contactor" with an alkaline hydroxide solution. The second cycle regenerates the collecting liquid used in the air contactor and delivers pure CO 2 as the end product. These cycles work continuously one after the other and create a concentrated flow emanating from CO 2 gas and only using energy, water and small materials, electricity as an input. Energy is used in such a way that no new CO 2 or further emissions are created and thus do not counteract what was extracted from the air. The captured atmospheric CO 2 can be stored underground, used for improved oil recovery, or converted to low-carbon synthetic fuels using the AIR-TO-FUELS ™ process.

Carbon Engineering's " Air to fuel" ( air to fuel) may be made of atmospheric CO 2 fuels such as gasoline , diesel or jet A produce, through the use of electricity from renewable energy such as from hydroelectric or solar . Electricity is used to split water and produce hydrogen, which is then combined with the CO 2 obtained in the atmosphere to form fuel. This approach offers the opportunity to provide clean fuels that are compatible with existing engines, and can contribute to the transport sector by the displacement of fuel from petroleum to decarbonise .

Demonstration of the pilot plant

In 2015, Carbon Engineering commissioned its entire pilot facility in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada. During operation, this system can hold around one tonne of atmospheric CO 2 per day. In 2017, the company integrated the ability to synthesize fuel into the DAC pilot plant and converted CO 2 into fuel for the first time in December 2017.

Based on data from the pilot plant, David Keith and Carbon Engineering published a manuscript on June 7, 2018, presenting a simulation that suggests that CO 2 can be extracted from the atmosphere at a cost of USD 94-233 per ton, "[d] depending on financial assumptions, energy costs and the specific choice of inputs and outputs." The manuscript entitled "A Method for Capturing CO₂ from the Atmosphere" was published in the journal Joule .

Both DAC and air to fuel technology have proven to be suitable for being developed to market readiness in the pilot plant. Individual DAC systems can be built to record 1 million tons of CO₂ per year. On this scale, a carbon engineering exhaust air purification system could reduce the emissions of around 250,000 cars - either by capturing CO 2 or by using the recycled carbon dioxide as a feedstock for the production of synthetic fuel.

To compensate for the annual CO 2 , more than 9500 air separation systems from Carbon Engineering would be required 2 Emissions from the estimated 2 billion vehicles by 2035, including medium and heavy trucks that emit significantly more greenhouse gases than cars. More would be required as soon as aviation and mining , Agriculture, construction and non-vehicle emissions are taken into account.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Adele Peters: These Enormous Fans Suck CO2 Out Of The Air And Turn It Into Fuel . In: Fastcoexist.com . Fast Company. September 21, 2015. Accessed November 9, 2015.
  2. ^ Richard Harris: This Machine Can Suck Carbon Out Of The Air . In: NPR . Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  3. ^ A b David Roberts: Sucking carbon out of the air won't solve climate change (en-ca) . In: Vox , June 14, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2017. 
  4. ^ Clifford Krauss: Big Oil Bets on Carbon Removal , The New York Times . April 8, 2019. 
  5. ↑ a b Gemma Karstens-Smith: Carbon Engineering unveils groundbreaking carbon capture project in Squamish, BC . In: CBC News . Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  6. ↑ About Us . In: Carbon Engineering . Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  7. ^ Tyler Hamilton: Snatching CO2 back from the air . In: TheStar.com . Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd .. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  8. ^ Anne Eisenberg: Pulling Carbon Dioxide Out of Thin Air . In: New York Times , January 5, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2015. 
  9. ^ A b c Marc Gunther: The business of cooling the planet . In: FORTUNE . Time Inc ..
  10. ^ Matt McGrath: Climate change 'magic bullet' gets boost . In: BBC , April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019. 
  11. ^ 1 Climate Change Technology Company That Could Lead to a Green Future, and It's Not Solar . In: The Motley Fool . August 8, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  12. ↑ Ivan SEMENIUK: Could this plant hold the key to generating fuel from CO2 emissions? . Retrieved February 12, 2016. 
  13. ↑ John Wenz: This Giant Wind Wall Sucks Carbon Dioxide Out of the Air . In: Popular Mechanics . Hearst. July 22, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  14. ^ John Baker: Market outlook: Out of thin air . In: ICIS Chemical Business . Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  15. ^ How Carbon Engineering plans to make a fortune out of thin air (en-US) . In: Canadian Business - Your Source For Business News , February 29, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2017. 
  16. ^ Nicola Jones: Can Pulling Carbon from Air Make a Difference on Climate? . In: Yale Environment 360 . Yale University. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  17. ↑ David Smith: CARBON CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY: CLEANING UP OUR SKIES . In: WeAreSalt.org . Disqus. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  18. ↑ Transportation Forecast: Light Duty Vehicles ( en ) In: www.navigantresearch.com . Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  19. ↑ Fact Sheet - Vehicle Efficiency and Emissions Standards | White Papers | EESI . In: www.eesi.org . Retrieved September 14, 2019.