Greentech Lead America: ATMI, a provider of specialty
semiconductor materials, has started commercialization of a new carbon dioxide
(CO2) capture system. The system features ATMI’s precision BrightBlack carbon
adsorbent technology and a proprietary, adsorbent-based gas separation
technology designed by SRI International.
ATMI will lead commercialization and marketing efforts
with their partners for rapid scale-up and commercial deployments of CO2
capture systems.
“First commercialization will likely come from
small-scale, industrial customers wanting to capture and reuse CO2 in their
processes to reduce their raw materials costs and CO2 footprint,” said
Josh Sweeney, marketing director for ATMI’s BrightBlack technologies.
The combined system has consistently demonstrated CO2
capture efficiencies greater than 90 percent with CO2 purities as high as 99
percent. ATMI claims that this technology will reduce the capture cost to $10
to $15 per ton.
Laboratory, pilot and field tests revealed that
BrightBlack carbon microbead adsorbents display exceptional physical adsorption
characteristics for CO2, with high capacity and low regeneration energy. They
also possess excellent chemical and mechanical stability in an SRI process that
features a re-circulating adsorbent system with integrated CO2 adsorption and
steam-stripping sections.
“SRI and ATMI have validated a new approach to CO2
capture. It offers significant advantages compared to current systems. SRI
believes its collaboration with ATMI will bring an important solution to the
marketplace,” said Chris Lantman, director of commercial business
development, SRI Physical Sciences Division.
ATMI’s BrightBlack brand of precision carbon comprises a
family of specialty carbon molecular sieves that are engineered for extremely
high adsorption capacities and can be optimized for gas storage, gas capture
and reuse, and a variety of industrially important gas separations.