Capture6, K-water, and BKT are joining to establish a pilot project for carbon capture and freshwater recovery, among other sustainable water treatment practices.
The companies have agreed to use K-water’s desalination facility, which is currently in construction in Korea, for the pilot project. Since the facility is located near the Daesan Industrial Complex and other industrial plants with heavy emissions, it has great potential for Capture6’s Project Octopus carbon capture pilot. The surrounding region has also been experiencing water scarcity due to extreme drought and reliance on external water sources, so the water management aspect of the project may help improve local water supply.
Capture6 uses saltwater in its carbon capture process, which the company claims may remove up to 500,000 tons of carbon each year once a large-scale commercial facility is developed. The process may increase the K-water facility’s freshwater yields and help address the site's excess brine contaminants that are typically disposed of into the ocean. Finally, the process may also generate green chemicals, such as hydrochloric acid and calcium carbonate, that may be used to support sustainable industrial operations.
Capture6 and water treatment company, BKT, reportedly established a strategic partnership earlier this year to advance carbon neutrality in the water industry. Their work with K-water is expected to provide affordable carbon removal while also supporting the facility's surrounding community.
“As a public institution, we are committed to leading the global carbon neutrality efforts and nurturing the domestic water industry by partnering with the private sector to develop innovative water technologies,” said Dr. Yun Seog-Dae, CEO of K-water.
Many carbon capture companies, like Capture6, have developed removal processes that may provide benefits outside of removing carbon from the environment.
For example, Mission Zero Technologies recently deployed its first direct air capture plant in the United Kingdom, which is capable of making sustainable aviation fuel from captured carbon. Other projects can support the natural environment, such as Yamaha Rightwater and Georgia Southern University’s research project, which addresses how oyster bed restoration may also help sequester carbon.
Most of these carbon capture projects are in the pilot phase and have yet to scale, but the United Nations considers carbon removal a necessary step in limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as outlined in the Paris Agreement.
