Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
6/20/2014
CO2 Solutions and Neumann Systems Group (NSG) announced this week that they have entered into a collaborative agreement to test their carbon capture technologies together in a pilot demonstration project. Canadian-based CO2 Solutions specializes in enzyme-enabled carbon capture technology which will be paired with NSG’s NeuStream technology, a high mass transfer gas-liquid contractor. Should the demonstration be successful, the combination of the two technologies could potentially lead to a lower cost CO2 capture solution, according to a CO2 Solutions press release. NeuStream has been demonstrated to potentially reduce the capital cost of CO2 capture equipment by up to 50 percent due, in part, to having a smaller footprint than other current technologies. CO2 Solutions also said that its enzyme based solution “can generate cost savings in excess of 30 percent compared to conventional solvent-based processes. Additionally, the corporation’s solution enables the use of low-grade, nil-value heat from industrial sources, dramatically reducing process energy costs.”
The pilot demonstration is scheduled to launch in April 2015 at NSG’s Colorado Spring’s Facility and will capture roughly 10 tonnes of CO2 each day, which is expected to be suitable for commercial applications such as enhanced oil recovery according to a CO2 Solutions release. The demonstration will run for one month. Large bench-scale testing combining the two technologies has already been performed and has “yielded very positive results,” according to the release.
Funding for the project will be shared, according to the release. NSG currently has an on-going CO2 capture system development project supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory. Total funding of that project is nearly $9.5 million with more than $1.4 million in matching funding from NSG. The pilot will build on the NETL funded project with an additional contribution from CO2 Solutions of approximately $450,000 which will be used for equipment modifications, operations changes and testing, according to the release.
The agreement comes at a good time, Evan Price, President and CEO of CO2 Solutions, said in the release. "This project with Neumann Systems has the potential to significantly accelerate the commercialization of both our companies’ carbon capture technologies. Successful completion of the pilot will enable us to jointly pursue commercial opportunities both companies have identified. This is also a timely start to a relationship between CO2 Solutions and a U.S. partner given the June 2, 2014 landmark announcement by the Obama administration of carbon emissions regulations for the U.S. power sector,” Price said, referencing the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed CO2 emissions limits for existing power plants. The proposed regulations set emissions reductions targets for each state to reach by 2030.
