Texas-based cement producer Capitol Aggregates Cement, in conjunction with Austin-based Skyonic Corporation, is preparing to retrofit the world’s first commercial-scale carbon capture and mineralization plant at its San Antonio facility. The plant is expected to account for the profitable removal of more than 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide.
Skyonic will break ground this summer at Capitol Aggregates’ San Antonio facility where the Capitol SkyMine carbon capture plant will be retrofitted. The Capitol SkyMine is expected to directly capture 83,000 tons of CO2 from Capitol Aggregates’ emissions. Also, by using the captured CO2 to make products that would otherwise generate additional CO2, the plant will offset a further 220,000 tpy, once fully operational in 2014.
“The Capitol SkyMine plant will mark the first time that carbon-negative chemistry has reached the commercial stage,” said Joe Jones, founder and CEO of Skyonic. “Our unique, patented process means that emission problems can become emission profits. The carbon-negative products produced, which include sodium bicarbonate and hydrochloric acid, will displace the carbon-positive products currently sold. This is a crucial step towards a cleaner global manufacturing industry.”
Skyonic’s electrolytic SkyMine technology will selectively capture CO2, acid gases and heavy metals from the flue gas and mineralize the captured pollutants into safe, stable, solid products.
The plant is expected to turn a profit from the sale of these products within three years. According to Skyonic, because the plant operates at energy-efficient conditions and produces valuable products using low-cost chemical inputs, SkyMine captures CO2 at a substantially lower cost than other carbon capture technologies, allowing industrial emitters to turn a profit from reduced emissions.
Skyonic is expected to create more than 200 jobs through Capitol SkyMine’s construction and ongoing operations.
