The Catalyst Review January 2020 - 8

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVES

The views expressed are those of the individual author and may not reflect those of The Catalyst Review or TCGR
Industry Perspectives (continued from page 7)

About the Author

Bruce Lipshutz PhD, 1977 (Harry Wasserman, Yale; postdoc with E. J. Corey, Harvard) began his academic career at
UC Santa Barbara in 1979 and continues today as Professor of Chemistry. His ongoing research program in green
chemistry, dating back to 2007, focuses on developing new technologies for use in organic synthesis that are
environmentally responsible. Thus, his group is determined to: (1) get organic solvents out of organic chemistry; (2)
eliminate the need for investing energy into reactions; and (3) provide new reagents that enable transition metal
catalysis using either precious or base metals at ppm levels. Email: lipshutz@chem.ucsb.edu

Carbon Dioxide Capture and Conversion (CO2CC) Program
The Catalyst Group Resources (TCGR) continues to provide forward-looking advice in its new multi-client and select-client reports, along with
those delivered for its membership programs, notably the Catalytic Advances Program (CAP) and the Carbon Dioxide Capture and Conversion
(CO2CC) Program. The CO2CC Program is an industrial consortium dedicated to seeking, reporting and developing win-win economic solutions
to CO2 capture and conversion focused on practical ways to generate both savings and lower costs to enhance your bottom-line profitability! It has
been in operation since 2010, with a wealth of resources in place. A critical feature of the program is its members-only reports, where topics are
selected by ballot and where contents are shaped by members' TofC inputs. A summary of the timely and insightful 2019 techno-economic reports,
made exclusive to members, follows:
Report 1: Technical and Commercial Progress
Towards Viable CO2 Storage
To meet the goals of the Paris Climate
Agreement (limiting the global temperature
rise to 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels),
several decarbonization strategies are being
considered. Carbon Capture and Storage
(CCS) is one such option. Although it has not
been the most popular choice historically with
concerns around cost, solvent toxicity and
scalability, it is now seeing a greater focus.
CCS is regarded as an enabling technology for
producing "blue hydrogen" with a low carbon
footprint, storing CO2 captured from the air
(Direct Air Capture) and its more traditional
application for decarbonizing large fossil
fuel power generation plants and petroleum
refineries. This report considers the technical
and commercial feasibility of CCS from three
critical perspectives: regulatory, transportation
and storage. It provides a timely synopsis
of the major enabling factors that need to be
progressed for CCS to move forward. It will be
of considerable help to existing stakeholders
and newcomers, looking to understand the
status of CCS and provides a view of what is
needed to improve its prospects of becoming a
significant method for reducing GHG via widescale deployment.

Report 2: Compact Light-Weight CO2 Capture
Technologies for Small-To-Medium-Scale
CO2 Emitters
Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) is
one of several techniques under consideration
for decarbonization required to meet the
goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. While
much CO2 is emitted from large power point
sources, there are in the order of 100,000's
of small-to-medium emitters globally across
different sectors making up at least one quarter
of the total CO2 released, and these must
also be tackled. This timely report consists of
two main chapters: One looks at the profile
of small-medium emitters, describing the
processes in which they are produced, the
flue-gas characteristics and the status of CCS
for each sector; The second goes on to detail the
CCS processes available including cryogenic,
liquid, solids including Direct Air Capture
(DAC) and membrane-type separations. A
view of the success of each technique in the
different sectors is provided. The report will be
invaluable for those looking to develop and/
or offer CCS solutions for small-to-medium
emitters and for manufacturers wishing to
reduce the carbon footprint of their existing
facilities and planned new units.

In addition to the reports, CO2CC Program materials include weekly monitoring
communications via email (CO2CC Communiqués) and scheduled meetings of members.
Access to deliverables is exclusive to members, which TCGR works with to identify and foster
competitive advantage and opportunity. This value-added relationship leads to improved
(or unique) external R&D and commercial investment possibilities. More information about
the CO2CC Program can be seen at http://www.catalystgrp.com/php/tcgr_co2cc.php or by
calling +1-215-628-4447 or e-mail John J. Murphy at John.J.Murphy@catalystgrp.com.

Report 3: Advances in Direct Air Capture
(DAC) of CO2
Carbon negative technologies (which reduce
the existing amount of CO2 in the atmosphere)
are necessary to capture CO2 which is not
emitted from a point source and to reduce the
total atmospheric CO2 back down to what is
considered to be a safe level (e.g., 350 ppm).
The method to achieve this is known as "Direct
Air Capture" and over the last few decades
several processes have been developed and
are now being commercialized. As with
point-source capture systems, the main
technologies are based on liquid solvents and
solid sorbents. A regeneration stage is required
to remove the captured CO2 from the solvent
or sorbent and the various approaches are set
out and compared in this report. The report
considers the ways in which each of the DAC
processes will be utilized, the enabling factors
and challenges that they must overcome to
impact climate goals. The report will be of
interest to companies looking to develop a
similar process, or to invest in an existing
one as well as companies who may have a
technology which could utilize the captured
CO2 for a downstream chemical process. This
is an important method of making CO2 capture
economically feasible and for decarbonizing a
range of chemicals and materials. To date DAC
has been applied to production of pure CO2 for
food & beverages, production of methanol and
methane. It has major potential to be applied
for other chemicals, fuels and solid materials
(plastics and building materials).

The Catalyst Review

January 2020

http://www.catalystgrp.com/php/tcgr_co2cc.php http://www.catalystgrp.com/php/tcgr_co2cc.php http://www.catalystgrp.com/tcg-resources/

The Catalyst Review January 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Catalyst Review January 2020