Skyonic Corporation has opened the world’s first commercial-scale carbon capture and utilization facility in San Antonio, TX.
Located at Capitol Aggregates, an existing cement plant, the $125 million Capitol SkyMine will have a total carbon impact of 300,000 tons annually, through the direct capture of 75,000 tons of carbon dioxide and transformation into solid, usable products such as baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), bleach and hydrochloric acid (HCl).
Using Skyonic’s patented, groundbreaking SkyMine® technology, Capitol SkyMine is expected to generate approximately $48 million in revenue and $28 million in annual earnings — all from greenhouse gas emissions that previously would have been released into the atmosphere.
The SkyMine process allows owners of industrial facilities or fossil-fuel-fired power plants to capture up to 90 percent of CO2 emissions from flue gas and transform them into solid products that can then be sold for a profit. The creation of these carbon-negative products will offset CO2 emissions by displacing products that are normally made through carbon-intensive practices.
The introduction of this technology could transform the carbon capture industry: Previously, captured carbon has been sequestered and injected into the ground; now, stationary emitters can convert GHGs into common industrial products.
In other carbon-capture news, last month CO2 Solutions, an enzyme-enabled carbon-capture technology company, partnered with the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) to test its technology at EERC’s testing facility using natural gas and coal flue gas in December. The program's goal is to evaluate several CO2 capture technologies that are among the most advanced systems under development for power and steam-generation plants.
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Founder, Hower Impact
Mike Hower is the founder of Hower Impact — a boutique consultancy delivering strategic communication advisory and support for corporate sustainability, ESG and climate tech.
Published Oct 28, 2014 1am EDT / 10pm PDT / 5am GMT / 6am CET