From waste CO2 to revenue
As governments commit to reducing CO2 emissions, industries around the world face stronger financial penalties for the carbon they release. To reduce their carbon footprints and avoid these costs, many industries are working to capture their carbon emissions. The question then becomes — what to do with the captured carbon? Is it a waste? Or can we add new value to it?
For some, the answer is to store or sequester it below ground or under the ocean, where it can’t contribute to global warming. For others, however, there is a chance to put those CO2 molecules to work and not only avoid financial penalties, but earn supplementary income in the process.
A new life for captured
Carbon capture is comprised of three steps. First, flue gases are pulled inside an absorption column and rapidly cooled. Then the gases are introduced to a solvent that traps the CO2. The solvent is then flushed, leaving behind a nearly pure CO2. This is where Casale comes in. We’ve taken our decades of experience adding value to CO2 captured during chemical processing and applied it to the latest carbon capture technology for flue gases.
For example, a client who was producing only methanol, wanted to expand their portfolio of products while reducing their carbon emissions. This provided us with a perfect opportunity to work together and implement a solution that now sees them producing urea, melamine, and ammonia, in addition to methanol.
This highlights the wide range of uses for captured CO2. Not only is urea an important fertilizer for the agriculture sector, but melamine is a critical component in the manufacture of everyday items such as tableware, wood laminates, floorings and car parts.