CO2 Solutions has entered into an exclusive collaboration agreement with Cleveland Gas Systems, a provider of high-intensity gas-liquid rotating packed bed (RPB) mass transfer technology, that the partners say will help lower the cost of carbon capture.
Under the terms of the agreement, CO2 Solutions and GTS will collaborate on bringing to market an advanced carbon capture solution, combining CO2 Solutions’ non-toxic enzyme-enabled capture process and GasTran’s RPB technology. Synergies observed during initial joint testing, at a scale of approximately 0.5 metric tons of CO2 captured per day, show potential for capture equipment 20 times smaller than conventional equipment, the companies say. This would significantly reduce capital costs, as well as increase the applicability of CO2 capture at many emitter locations where space and footprint considerations are as important as cost, such as power plants and refineries.
Additionally, the joint testing demonstrated that the CO2 Solutions’ proprietary enzyme–based solvent outperforms amine solvents in terms of CO2 absorption kinetics, while at the same time being environmentally friendly, CO2 Solutions says. Absorption rates five times faster than a conventional amine solvent were observed in the RPB. As opposed to amine-based technology, no harmful aerosols were emitted and no harmful waste products were generated.
The tests conducted on the combined technology build further on the results achieved by CO2 Solutions’ pilot work announced in April.
The GTS RPB technology is based on the principle of increasing, by orders of magnitude, the effective surface area of a liquid to facilitate gas absorption and maximizing the amount of a gas to be absorbed by the liquid phase.