Carbon Engineering

Last updated
Carbon Engineering Ltd.
Company type Private
IndustryDirect air capture
Founded2009  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Headquarters Squamish, British Columbia, Canada
Key people
Daniel Friedmann, Chief Executive Officer, Board Chair
Kerri L. Fox, Chief Financial Officer
David Keith, Founder, Board Member
Website carbonengineering.com

Carbon Engineering Ltd. is a Canadian-based clean energy company focusing on the commercialization of direct air capture (DAC) technology that captures carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the atmosphere. [1] [2]

Contents

This captured CO2 can either be stored underground, or converted into carbon-neutral fuel using renewable energy sources, by a process the company calls "air to fuels". [3] The company is running a pilot plant in Squamish, British Columbia, removing CO2 from the atmosphere since 2015 and converting it into fuels since December 2017. [4]

The company was founded in 2009 by David Keith, now a professor in the Department of the Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago, [5] and is now led by Daniel Friedmann as CEO, who served as the former CEO of Canadian aerospace company, MDA, for 20 years. [6]

Carbon Engineering is funded by several government and sustainability-focused agencies as well as by private investors, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates and oil sands financier N. Murray Edwards. [7] [8] [9] In addition, in 2019 the company received US$68 million from private investors, including fossil fuel companies Chevron Corporation, Occidental Petroleum, and BHP. [10] In August 2023, Occidental Petroleum bought Carbon Engineering for $1.1B, with payments over 3 years, and the intention to build 100 DAC plants. [11]

Technology

Carbon Engineering's DAC system integrates two main cycles. The first cycle is the absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere in a device called an "air contactor" using an alkaline hydroxide solution, [5] [12] via patents such as US20140271379A1 and US20150329369A1. The second cycle regenerates the capture liquid used in the air contactor, and delivers pure CO2 as an end product. [13] [12] [14] These cycles operate in tandem continuously, producing a concentrated stream of CO2 gas as an output, and requiring only energy, water, and small material make up streams as inputs. Energy is used in such a way that no new CO2 emissions are incurred, and thus do not counteract what was captured from the air.[ citation needed ] [15] The captured atmospheric CO2 can be stored underground, used for enhanced oil recovery, or turned into low-carbon synthetic fuels using the company's "air to fuel" technology. [9] [15] [3]

Carbon Engineering's air to fuel process can produce fuels such as gasoline, diesel, or jet A using inputs of atmospheric CO2, water, and renewable electricity such as that from solar panels. Electricity is used to split water (by electrolysis) and manufacture hydrogen, which is then combined with captured atmospheric CO2 to form fuels. [16] This approach offers a means to deliver clean fuels that are compatible with existing engines, and can help de-carbonize the transportation sector by displacing fuels made from crude oil.

Pilot plant demonstration

In 2015, Carbon Engineering started operations of its full end-to-end pilot plant, located in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada. When running, this facility captures roughly 1 ton of atmospheric CO2 per day. [9] In 2017, the company incorporated fuel synthesis capability into the DAC pilot plant and converted CO2 into fuel for the first time in December 2017.

Based on the data obtained from the pilot plant, Keith and colleagues published an article in 2018 that presents a simulation suggesting that CO2 can be captured from the atmosphere at a cost of between US$94 to US$233 per ton, "depending on financial assumptions, energy costs, and the specific choice of inputs and outputs". [17]

Both DAC and air to fuel technologies have been proven at the pilot plant and are now being scaled up into commercial markets. Individual DAC facilities can be built to capture up to 1 million tons of CO2 per year in the near future. [18] At that scale, one Carbon Engineering air capture plant could negate the emissions from ~250,000 cars—either by sequestering the CO2 or by using the recycled carbon dioxide as a feedstock to produce synthetic fuel.[ citation needed ]

Commercialization

In May 2019, Carbon Engineering announced it was partnering with Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, LLC. (OLCV), a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum, to design and engineer a large-scale DAC plant capable of capturing 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air each year, which would be used in OLCV's enhanced oil recovery operations and subsequently stored underground permanently. [19] [20] Located in the Permian Basin, construction for the plant is expected to begin in 2022, [21] with operations targeted for 2024. [22] In September 2019, Carbon Engineering announced they were expanding the capacity of the design of the plant from 500,000 tonnes to an expected one million tonnes of CO2 captured per year. [20] In August 2023, it was announced Occidental Petroleum had acquired all the outstanding equity of Carbon Engineering for $1.1 billion.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon dioxide</span> Chemical compound with formula CO₂

Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CO2. It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature, and as the source of available carbon in the carbon cycle, atmospheric CO2 is the primary carbon source for life on Earth. In the air, carbon dioxide is transparent to visible light but absorbs infrared radiation, acting as a greenhouse gas. Carbon dioxide is soluble in water and is found in groundwater, lakes, ice caps, and seawater. When carbon dioxide dissolves in water, it forms carbonate and mainly bicarbonate, which causes ocean acidification as atmospheric CO2 levels increase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Occidental Petroleum</span> American oil company

Occidental Petroleum Corporation is an American company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration in the United States and the Middle East as well as petrochemical manufacturing in the United States, Canada, and Chile. It is incorporated under the Delaware General Corporation Law and headquartered in Houston. The company ranked 183rd on the 2021 Fortune 500 based on its 2020 revenues and 670th on the 2021 Forbes Global 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fossil fuel power station</span> Facility that burns fossil fuels to produce electricity

A fossil fuel power station is a thermal power station which burns a fossil fuel, such as coal, oil, or natural gas, to produce electricity. Fossil fuel power stations have machinery to convert the heat energy of combustion into mechanical energy, which then operates an electrical generator. The prime mover may be a steam turbine, a gas turbine or, in small plants, a reciprocating gas engine. All plants use the energy extracted from the expansion of a hot gas, either steam or combustion gases. Although different energy conversion methods exist, all thermal power station conversion methods have their efficiency limited by the Carnot efficiency and therefore produce waste heat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flue gas</span> Gas exiting to the atmosphere via a flue

Flue gas is the gas exiting to the atmosphere via a flue, which is a pipe or channel for conveying exhaust gases, as from a fireplace, oven, furnace, boiler or steam generator. It often refers to the exhaust gas of combustion at power plants. Technology is available to remove pollutants from flue gas at power plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coal pollution mitigation</span>

Coal pollution mitigation, sometimes labeled as clean coal, is a series of systems and technologies that seek to mitigate health and environmental impact of burning coal for energy. Burning coal releases harmful substances that contribute to air pollution, acid rain, and greenhouse gas emissions. Mitigation includes precombustion approaches, such as cleaning coal, and post combustion approaches, include flue-gas desulfurization, selective catalytic reduction, electrostatic precipitators, and fly ash reduction. These measures aim to reduce coal's impact on human health and the environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon capture and storage</span> Collecting carbon dioxide from industrial emissions

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a process in which a relatively pure stream of carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial sources is separated, treated and transported to a long-term storage location. In CCS, the CO2 is captured from a large point source, such as a chemical plant, coal power plant, cement kiln, or bioenergy plant, and typically is stored in a deep geological formation.

Enhanced oil recovery, also called tertiary recovery, is the extraction of crude oil from an oil field that cannot be extracted otherwise. Although the primary and secondary recovery techniques rely on the pressure differential between the surface and the underground well, enhanced oil recovery functions by altering the chemical composition of the oil itself in order to make it easier to extract. EOR can extract 30% to 60% or more of a reservoir's oil, compared to 20% to 40% using primary and secondary recovery. According to the US Department of Energy, carbon dioxide and water are injected along with one of three EOR techniques: thermal injection, gas injection, and chemical injection. More advanced, speculative EOR techniques are sometimes called quaternary recovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxy-fuel combustion process</span> Burning of fuel with pure oxygen

Oxy-fuel combustion is the process of burning a fuel using pure oxygen, or a mixture of oxygen and recirculated flue gas, instead of air. Since the nitrogen component of air is not heated, fuel consumption is reduced, and higher flame temperatures are possible. Historically, the primary use of oxy-fuel combustion has been in welding and cutting of metals, especially steel, since oxy-fuel allows for higher flame temperatures than can be achieved with an air-fuel flame. It has also received a lot of attention in recent decades as a potential carbon capture and storage technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere</span> Atmospheric constituent and greenhouse gas

In Earth's atmosphere, carbon dioxide is a trace gas that plays an integral part in the greenhouse effect, carbon cycle, photosynthesis and oceanic carbon cycle. It is one of three main greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of Earth. Water vapor is the primary greenhouse gas, as of 2010, contributing 50% of the greenhouse effect, followed by carbon dioxide at 20%. The current global average concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 421 ppm (0.04%) as of May 2022. This is an increase of 50% since the start of the Industrial Revolution, up from 280 ppm during the 10,000 years prior to the mid-18th century. The increase is due to human activity.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a technology that can capture carbon dioxide CO2 emissions produced from fossil fuels in electricity, industrial processes which prevents CO2 from entering the atmosphere. Carbon capture and storage is also used to sequester CO2 filtered out of natural gas from certain natural gas fields. While typically the CO2 has no value after being stored, Enhanced Oil Recovery uses CO2 to increase yield from declining oil fields.

The milestones for carbon capture and storage show the lack of commercial scale development and implementation of CCS over the years since the first carbon tax was imposed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage</span>

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is the process of extracting bioenergy from biomass and capturing and storing as much as possible of the resulting CO2, thereby moving it from the biogenic carbon pool to the geological carbon pool. BECCS can theoretically be a "negative emissions technology" (NET), although its deployment at the scale considered by many governments and industries can "also pose major economic, technological, and social feasibility challenges; threaten food security and human rights; and risk overstepping multiple planetary boundaries, with potentially irreversible consequences". The carbon in the biomass comes from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) which is extracted from the atmosphere by the biomass when it grows. Energy ("bioenergy") is extracted in useful forms (electricity, heat, biofuels, etc.) as the biomass is utilized through combustion, fermentation, pyrolysis or other conversion methods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental impact of the energy industry</span>

The environmental impact of the energy industry is significant, as energy and natural resource consumption are closely related. Producing, transporting, or consuming energy all have an environmental impact. Energy has been harnessed by human beings for millennia. Initially it was with the use of fire for light, heat, cooking and for safety, and its use can be traced back at least 1.9 million years. In recent years there has been a trend towards the increased commercialization of various renewable energy sources. Scientific consensus on some of the main human activities that contribute to global warming are considered to be increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, causing a warming effect, global changes to land surface, such as deforestation, for a warming effect, increasing concentrations of aerosols, mainly for a cooling effect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atmospheric carbon cycle</span> Transformation of atmospheric carbon between various forms

The atmospheric carbon cycle accounts for the exchange of gaseous carbon compounds, primarily carbon dioxide, between Earth's atmosphere, the oceans, and the terrestrial biosphere. It is one of the faster components of the planet's overall carbon cycle, supporting the exchange of more than 200 billion tons of carbon in and out of the atmosphere throughout the course of each year. Atmospheric concentrations of CO2 remain stable over longer timescales only when there exists a balance between these two flows. Methane, Carbon monoxide (CO), and other human-made compounds are present in smaller concentrations and are also part of the atmospheric carbon cycle.

Carbon-neutral fuel is fuel which produces no net-greenhouse gas emissions or carbon footprint. In practice, this usually means fuels that are made using carbon dioxide (CO2) as a feedstock. Proposed carbon-neutral fuels can broadly be grouped into synthetic fuels, which are made by chemically hydrogenating carbon dioxide, and biofuels, which are produced using natural CO2-consuming processes like photosynthesis.

The Allam Cycle or Allam-Fetvedt Cycle is a process for converting carbonaceous fuels into thermal energy, while capturing the generated carbon dioxide and water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gas venting</span> Disposal of unwanted methane gas from fossil fuels

Gas venting, more specifically known as natural-gas venting or methane venting, is the intentional and controlled release of gases containing alkane hydrocarbons - predominately methane - into Earth's atmosphere. It is a widely used method for disposal of unwanted gases which are produced during the extraction of coal and crude oil. Such gases may lack value when they are not recyclable into the production process, have no export route to consumer markets, or are surplus to near-term demand. In cases where the gases have value to the producer, substantial amounts may also be vented from the equipment used for gas collection, transport, and distribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Direct air capture</span> Method of carbon capture from carbon dioxide in air

Direct air capture (DAC) is the use of chemical or physical processes to extract carbon dioxide directly from the ambient air. If the extracted CO2 is then sequestered in safe long-term storage, the overall process will achieve carbon dioxide removal and be a "negative emissions technology" (NET).

Climeworks AG is a Swiss company specializing in direct air capture (DAC) technology. The company filters CO2 directly from the ambient air through an adsorption-desorption process. At its first commercial direct air capture and storage plant, Orca, in Hellisheidi, Iceland, the air-captured CO2 is handed over to storage partner Carbfix, who injects it deep underground where it mineralizes and turns into stone. Climeworks's machines are powered by renewable energy or energy-from-waste, with a carbon dioxide re-emission rate of less than 10%.

References

  1. ↑ Peters, Adele (2015-09-21). "These Enormous Fans Suck CO2 Out Of The Air And Turn It Into Fuel". Fastcoexist.com. Fast Company. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  2. ↑ Harris, Richard. "This Machine Can Suck Carbon Out Of The Air". NPR. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 Roberts, David (2018-06-14). "Sucking carbon out of the air won't solve climate change". Vox. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
  4. ↑ Clifford Krauss (April 8, 2019). "Big Oil Bets on Carbon Removal". The New York Times .
  5. 1 2 Karstens-Smith, Gemma. "Carbon Engineering unveils groundbreaking carbon capture project in Squamish, B.C." CBC News. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  6. ↑ Carbon Engineering Ltd. (2022-01-10). "Carbon Engineering Announces Leadership Transition". Archived from the original on 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  7. ↑ Hamilton, Tyler (8 October 2015). "Snatching CO2 back from the air". TheStar.com. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd.
  8. ↑ Eisenberg, Anne (2013-01-05). "Pulling Carbon Dioxide Out of Thin Air". New York Times. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 Gunther, Marc (7 October 2011). "The business of cooling the planet". FORTUNE. Time Inc.
  10. ↑ Silcoff, Sean (21 March 2019). "B.C.'s Carbon Engineering secures $68-million to commercialize CO2-removal technology". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  11. ↑ Valle, Sabrina; Bose, Sourasis; Valle, Sabrina (2023-08-15). "Occidental buys carbon air capture tech firm for $1.1 billion". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  12. 1 2 SEMENIUK, Ivan. "Could this plant hold the key to generating fuel from CO2 emissions?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "1 Climate Change Technology Company That Could Lead to a Green Future, and It's Not Solar". The Motley Fool. 2015-08-08. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  14. ↑ Wenz, John (2015-07-22). "This Giant Wind Wall Sucks Carbon Dioxide Out of the Air". Popular Mechanics. Hearst. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  15. 1 2 Baker, John. "Market outlook: Out of thin air". ICIS Chemical Business. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  16. ↑ "How Carbon Engineering plans to make a fortune out of thin air". Canadian Business. 2016-02-29. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
  17. ↑ Keith, David W.; et al. (June 7, 2018). "A Process for Capturing CO2 from the Atmosphere". Joule. 2 (8): 1635. doi: 10.1016/j.joule.2018.06.010 .
  18. ↑ Jones, Nicola. "Can Pulling Carbon from Air Make a Difference on Climate?". Yale Environment 360. Yale University. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  19. ↑ Rathi, Akshat (July 2019). "A tiny tweak in California law is creating a strange thing: carbon-negative oil". Quartz. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  20. 1 2 "Oxy Low Carbon Ventures and Carbon Engineering begin engineering of the world's largest Direct Air Capture and sequestration plant". Carbon Engineering. 2019-05-21. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  21. ↑ Carbon Engineering Ltd. (2020-08-19). "Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, Rusheen Capital Management create development company 1PointFive to deploy Carbon Engineering's Direct Air Capture technology". Archived from the original on 2020-08-20. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  22. ↑ Gertner, Jon (2021-01-25). "The Dream of Carbon Air Capture Edges Toward Reality". Yale Environment 360. Retrieved 2022-01-12.

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