The University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center is going to verify the cost and size reduction capabilities of CO2 Solutions Inc.s’ enzyme-based carbon capture process using rotating packed bed (RPB) equipment from GanTrans.
Testing, which is to occur from September 12 to September 26, is expected to validate the performance of the RPB using natural gas and coal flue gas. The objective is to confirm earlier bench-scale test findings that indicated the potential of replacing significantly larger (20 to 50 times) conventional packed tower contactors for CO2 capture with RPB equipment.
Earlier bench-scale tests of the RPB equipment using the company’s enzyme–based solvent resulted in CO2 absorption rates at least five times higher than conventional amine solvent processes. The new testing at EERC will measure the capture efficiency of the RPB technology at approximately 10 times the capacity of the largest tests conducted to date with this type of equipment. Third party verification of test data is expected to provide the required validation of the RPB in a carbon capture setting, as well as provide data for scale up to commercial applications.
"The outcome, if our earlier results are confirmed, is that implementation of our technology will be even lower cost than what we have demonstrated thus far," said Evan Price, president and CEO at CO2 Solutions.
"The logical follow up will be to insert RPB equipment into commercial scale projects for the capture, utilization and/or sequestration of carbon from large industrial emitters. At large scale, we anticipate achieving capture costs below those associated with emitting carbon, creating a strong economic incentive for the adoption of our technology,” he added.
The cost advantages of the RPB relate mainly to its small size, leading to reduced CAPEX. An additional advantage of the RPB is the reduced footprint, which provides the ability to address industries where space is at a premium.