Akermin Demonstrates CO2 Capture using Proprietary Biocatalyst Delivery System
In Alabama, Akermin announced the successful commissioning and testing of its proprietary Biocatalyst Delivery System at the National Carbon Capture Center in Wilsonville. The pilot unit has operated continuously for several weeks capturing close to 90% CO2 from flue gas with significant rate enhancement and no degradation in performance. Akermin’s biocatalyst delivery system incorporates the use of an enzyme that is being supplied by Novozymes — that ultimately converts CO2 to bicarbonate.
“These results validate our technology and our approach and support scale-up and demonstration across multiple markets,” said Barry Blackwell, President and CEO. “We are excited to achieve such excellent results with our initial field pilot test. This achievement is a testament to the hard work of the entire Akermin team. We would also like to acknowledge the unwavering support of the US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE-NETL), and our project partners and suppliers, including: Novozymes, EPIC Systems, the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC), Battelle and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). After several weeks of continuous operation, this marks the longest and largest demonstration of an enzyme-catalyzed process for CO2 capture.”
The pilot plant will continue operations for several months with no replenishment of enzyme. The operating data provide technical and economic validation for CO2 removal from target markets such as biogas upgrading, LNG and ammonia production and support larger-scale field pilot testing for natural gas and coal-fired power plants.
Akermin’s approach not only increases enzyme stability but, more importantly, improves operational performance by directly reducing column height—a key capital component. For example, a study of a specific LNG case with CO2 removal to < 50 ppm using Akermin’s Biocatalyst DeliverySystem concluded that the packing height of the absorber column was reduced more than 65% versus a conventional system. This and other process improvements resulted in a 15-20% reduction in capital cost, a 15-20% reduction in regeneration energy, and lower costs for system maintenance, solvent consumption and by-product disposal.
Category: Fuels
