carbon8 systems -...
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Carbon8 Systems
Developing an innovative and profitable process that combines waste CO2 and thermal residues, to create a carbon negative aggregate for construction and lock CO2 in for good
within our built environment.
Dr Paula Carey
Managing Director
Content
• Company Background and Technology
• Potential scale of the technology
• Major Challenges to further commercialization
• Research and development needs
Who we are
• Company based in the UK, at the University of Greenwich, SE England
• Formed in Feb 2006 to commercialise a patented technology
developed within the University of Greenwich
• Result of >20 years of research into solidification/stabilisation of
wastes and soils.
• Accelerated Carbonation (ACT) - treatment of wastes with carbon
dioxide.
• Permanent capture of CO2 in construction materials
• Commercial since 2012 – producing >150,000 tonnes of product/ year
• Three sites in the UK from early 20183
Accelerated Carbonation Technology
• Minerals in thermal/other residues reactive with carbon dioxide
• Mg/Ca silicates/oxides/hydroxides
• Carbonate reduces pH
• Stabilises metals such as Pb, Zn, Cu
• Carbonate formation can ‘cement’ the product
• Reaction takes only a few min. when ‘managed’
• Products can be engineered• Diversion of waste from landfill• Reduction in disposal costs• Improves carbon footprint, and corporate
responsibility profile and brand4
History of the Carbon8 Process
50 um
Original research on metal poisoning of stabilised/solidified waste
1mm
Trial carbonation treatment of contaminated soil
Later demonstrated at the Olympic Park
Queen’s award
for enterprise -innovation
Commercial plants in UK
Brandon commissioned 2012
Avonmouth commissioned 2016
Video of process available on www.c8a.co.uk
Economics of commercial plants in the UK
• APCr Gate Fee• Driven by regulation
• Aggregate Sales• Local aggregate market• Standards & Acceptance
• CO2 Cost• Currently a cost (pure CO2 from fertiliser or
bioethanol production)• Should be a revenue
• Reagents• CAPEX
• OPEX • Staff
• In UK - $1.4m gross profit per year
• Profit of c $370 per tonne CO2 captured
Process:
kg CO2e /t produced Explanation
Raw materials 110.35Municipal Waste Incinerator Air Pollution Control residues are assumed
carbon neutral
Energy consumption: 0.44 Grid electricity footprint
Transport: 18.98Transfer of materials to the aggregate production based on actual distance,
truck loads and fuel consumption.
CO2 sequestrated: -177.00 Carbon dioxide chemically bound in the process
Final balance -47.23
The Global CO2 Initiative
Scale of CO2 capture in aggregate
The Global CO2 initiative (GCI) predicted that carbonate aggregates could store up to 3.6 Gt/yr by 2030
• This figure included mineralisation of virgin materials as well as the carbonation of industrial wastes.
• States that “concrete” can take up 340kg CO2 per tonne –
• Carbonatable ingredient = cement c 10-15% of concrete has 30% uptake
• Therefore “concrete” max uptake of 45 kg per tonne
• Other researchers have suggested that there are up to 10Gt of mineral wastes available for carbonation worldwide = 1Gt CO2
• Includes historical deposits?
• We calculate (From EU databases) 630Mt waste across EU 28 = 19.4 Mt CO2
• But only 50Mt available in EU 12 = 5.7 Mt CO2
• Worldwide production of aggregate (2015) 48Gt
CO2 uptake predictionSteinour equation (1959) based on the concentration of 4 oxides obtained from XRF analysis
CO2 (%) = 0.785 x (CaO – 0.7 x SO3 ) + 1.09 x Na2O + 0.93 x K2O
Laboratory uptake values
Waste Type
Mean
Steinour
CO2 Uptake
(% by
weight)
Mean Lab
CO2 Uptake
(% by
weight)
Air Pollution Control
Residue34.3 11.4
Incinerator Fly Ash 31 8.9
Incinerator Bottom Ash 19.7 6.2
Steel Slag 27.4 16.5
Coal Pulverized Fuel Ash 16.7 9.7
Cement Kiln Dust 39.2 22.3
Biomass Ash 38.6 16.1
Coal Bottom Ash 18.6 4.8
Paper Sludge Fly Ash 45.7 31.5
Sewage Sludge Ash 23.5 3.2
Cement Kiln Dust
Annual Production (Mt)
990
CO2 Capacity (kg/tonne)
15-115
CO2 Utilisation Potential (Mt)
15-114
•Cement kiln dust (CKD) is formed during the manufacture of cement clinker
•Mixture of fine particles, unburned and part-burned raw materials and contaminants
•Historically, large amounts of CKD have been landfilled
5cm
Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA)
Annual Production (Mt)
600
CO2 Capacity (kg/tonne)
8-264
CO2 Utilisation Potential (Mt)
5-158
• PFA is produced from the burning of coal
• PFA is classified as either Class C or Class F, differentiating between those with high and low calcium contents
• Class C PFA has carbon capture potential
Bottom Ash Fly Ash/APCr
Annual Production
(Mt)80 20
CO2 Capacity (kg/tonne)
247-475 30-120
CO2 Utilisation potential (Mt)
20-38 0.6-2.4
MSWI Residues• Bottom ash: coarse grate residue
• Fly ash: fine grained airborne material
• APCr: residue from flue gas treatment
• Heavy metals/dioxins
Steel Slags
Annual Production (Mt)
400
CO2 Capacity (kg/tonne)
227-300
CO2 Utilisation potential (Mt)
91-120
• By-product from steel manufacture
• Manufacture of one tonne of steel produces 2-4 tonnes of waste
• May contain heavy metals
Waste available for carbonation
• If we assume there is 1Gt/yr of suitable waste available (composed by 7 major waste
streams)
• 20% of these are near a market for building products (200Mt)
• That CO2 is readily available, and at low cost
• That these wastes can easily combine with 10% CO2 w/w
• We have the potential to mineralize 20 Mt CO2 each year
• With new technologies this yield might increase to 15-20% w/w
• Then we have a maximum potential of 40 Mt CO2/yr mineralized in waste
• This would result in c 1 Gt product = 2% of aggregate market
• Not much, but also protects virgin stone reserves, meets need of the circular economy
APCr IBA
Steel Slag CKD/CBD
Carbon dioxide sequestration potential across Europe
Assuming 20% market penetrationCO2 potential
1.6 Million Tonnes per year in EURequires > 70 plants across Europe, achievable by 2030
Challenges for further commercialization
• Business model works well in UK for APCr• Favourable environmental regulation
• Landfill tax• End of waste process – risk based• Aggregate tax
• Large aggregate market• Local shortages of natural aggregate • Demise of coal power plants no longer producing Fuel Bottom Ash
• Despite high cost of pure CO2
• Only 12 of 28 EU countries have sufficient landfill costs
• Variable approach to “End of Waste”
• Other uses for the wastes • Land spreading• Cement extenders
Challenges for commercialization 2• CO2 source
• CO2 on the market - liquified CO2 is expensive (in the UK in short supply) high
transport costs (in UK limited no. of tankers)
• Directly captured CO2• Retrofit at an existing industry
• Space required for capture plant and CCU process
• If have to transport – purity, cost?
• Is CO2 source in the same place as other ingredients
• Aggregate generally more expensive to transport than wastes
• Power for process• Does the process require more power than the amount of carbon captured?
• Need to optimize CO2 uptake
• Acceptance of aggregate in market• Standards written for virgin materials formed over millennia
• Risk adverse industry
Further research/development needs:• Demonstration direct CO2 capture
• Optimisation of CO2 uptake
• Optimisation of current aggregate product (different applications)
• Development of new products
• Use of different waste streams• Potential of construction and demolition waste• Mobile plant for smaller CO2 sources or waste streams
• Develop incentives• Use of low carbon building materials• Selection of carbonation as a preferred route for waste streams• Mining of historical deposits• Value for CO2 captured
Needs• Risk based approach to use of treated waste based products
• Regulations for “End of Waste”
• Agreement on cross border transport of waste based products
• More flexible aggregate/material standards
• Phasing out landfill of wastes/ higher landfill pricing/taxes
• Increased restrictions on use of virgin aggregates
• Value for carbon captured in products
• Low cost capture and delivery of CO2 from point sources
• Carbon pricing, encouraging utilisation of CO2 (feedstock)
• An embodied carbon marking scheme for products
• Public awareness of benefits of CCU (develop a ‘culture’)
Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) is only going to work if we can make it pay
Will always have to pay something for the CO2
Unlikely to get subsidies for CCU, but could subsidise CCS
