The CarbonOrO solution
Where the magic happens...
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1
Capture
CarbonOrO uses a special amine solution to capture CO2 from raw gas. The installation consists of an absorber and a desorber. When raw landfill / mine gas enters the absorber, CO2 bonds to the amine solution and treated methane leaves the absorber at the top. The amine solution is then pumped to the desorber where CO2 is removed by heating before the amine solution is recirculated to the absorber to repeat the process.
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2
Extract
Prevailing amine-installations require desorber temperatures of 140 ̊C and above; temperatures that can only be reached with pressurized steam. Our CO2- scrubbing technology operates at much lower temperature. The CarbonOrO amine solution splits in two fractions in the desorber at 80°C. Neither of these two fractions can contain CO2; as a result, all CO2 is fully released from the solution.
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3
Release
This effect allows for the desorber to operate with less heat, saving on energy usage. But more important, it opens up the potential to operate the desorber on hot water instead of steam. Hot water (residual heat from condensed steam) is typically abundant and available for free in industrial installations. This drives operational costs significantly down in case of optimal integration with existing utilities.
Business case
CarbonOrO uses a proprietary amine solvent to capture CO2 from gasses. CO2 concentrations for use of the CarbonOrO process may range from 5% to 50%. Application is in CO2 removal for CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage) and in upgrading of biogas/landfill gas.
The CarbonOrO solvent is a so-called bi-phasic solvent, a mixture of amines and water, capable of absorbing CO2. Due the unique properties of the solvent, desorption of CO2 is not just driven by chemistry but also by a physical process (phase-shift). This allows for desorption of CO2 at much lower temperature (starting at ~70°C) than prevailing amines solvents (starting at ~130°C). Also, CO2-evasion is more-or-less instantaneous instead of gradually and correlated to temperature. Consequently, energy use by the CarbonOrO process is low.
CarbonOrO has developed two possible processes, one at 85°C and one at 120°C desorption temperature.
The 85°C process is best suited for smaller installations (up to appr. 5 kt/yr CO2) and it runs at (near) ambient pressure. At this temperature, the desorber is a stirred reactor vessel. Depending on local circumstances, residual heat (hot water, condensed steam) can be used to drive the process.
The second version operates at elevated temperature and pressure. Desorber temperature is appr. 120°C and CO2 is released at 4-5 bar. Desorption at 120°C is done in a stripper/reboiler section. This higher-temperature version is better suited for industrial applications with larger volumes, and where CO2 production at elevated pressure saves costs on compression to allow for downstream CO2 transport.
For industrial applications, CarbonOrO targets energy use of 2.4 GJ/t CO2, significantly below the current industry (MEA) benchmark of 3.6 GJ/t CO2. In addition, the CarbonOrO solvent shows (in laboratory testing), less thermal and oxidative degradation than commercial solvents.
Meet the team
Get to know the people behind CarbonOrO. Our creative and technical team.
Pieter Verberne
CTO
Jan Hoppenbrouwers
Head Sales & Marketing
Roger Meertens
CEO
