UK-based C-Capture has started up a new trial at a cement-making plant in Lincolnshire which aims to test the company’s technology to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the flue gas emissions produced during cement manufacture.
As part of the ongoing XLR8 CCS project, a new carbon capture solvent compatibility unit (CCSCU) designed and built by C-Capture and partner Wood is now installed and operating at the Heidelberg Materials cement plant.
The project will explore the potential for C-Capture’s technology to reduce emissions across three hard-to-abate industries: energy from waste, cement and glass manufacturing.
XLR8 CCS achieved the UK’s first demo of a carbon capture technology within the mainstream commercial glass manufacturing industry with a trial at Pilkington UK’s glass manufacturing site in St Helens currently underway.
Labelling industrial decarbonisation as ‘one of the most pressing global issues’, Tom White, CEO at C-Capture, called the project a critical step in the race to Net Zero.
Unlike most post-combustion carbon capture solutions, C-Capture does not rely on the use of amine-based absorption – a process that can lead to solvent degradation resulting in the formtion of toxic compounds such as nitrosamines, nitramines and amides.
The technology was also highlighted as part of a roundtable on accelerating decarbonisation last month, which was attended by Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, Lord Callanan.
“We are building a world-leading carbon capture industry in the UK – backed by up to £20bn ($25bn) – that will help meet our Net Zero targets, support skilled jobs in our industrial heartlands and bring economic growth to the country,” he said.
XLR8 CCS receives £1.7m ($2.1m) from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, as part of the £1bn ($1.2bn) Net Zero Innovation Portfolio.
C-Capture and Heidelberg Materials team members at the CCSCU which has been deployed at Ketton cement works as part of the XLR8 CCS project ©C-Capture.
This funding contributes to the £20m ($25m) Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) Innovation 2.0 programme, which aims to hasten the deployment of advanced CCUS technology in the UK. With private sector support, the project’s total funding reaches £2.7m ($3.4m).
The cement industry is responsible for about 8% of CO2 emissions and, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), annual CO2 intensity declines of 4% through to 2030 are required for the sector to get on track with the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE) scenario.
In addition to using carbon capture technologies, the sector could reduce its carbon footprint by using a combination of fuel and intermediate production substitutes.
Researchers at Imperial College London suggest that the most sensible solution might be to combine burning municipal solid waste with CCS, which could slash emissions to minus 20% of their current level.
Lead author Professor Paul Fennel, of Imperial’s Department of Chemical Engineering, said, “CO2 is a key greenhouse gas driving climate change, and it’s released by several aspects of cement production.”
“Process- and fuel-related emissions both account for a significant proportion of cement’s total emissions – so both process modification and energy efficiency are important for carbon reduction.”
