Akermin Inc., has announced they will be providing a carbon capture pilot plant to a waste-water treatment facility in Copenhagen, Denmark. This project will be the largest demonstration in the world of a biocatalyst removing CO2 from an industrial gas stream.
Akermin will use the project to prove the commercial viability of their flue gas treatment technology. With commercial viability in place, Akermin will be to start selling commercial scale units and generating revenue.
EPIC Modular Process built a pilot plant that helped Akermin take the first step towards commercial viability. That pilot unit is currently used to test various system parameters and prove a new CO2 removal technology. The unit consists of two packed distillation columns and is fifty-one feet tall and weighs 39,000 lbs.
Starting with lab-scale test data from Akermin, EPIC designed a pilot plant unit and then fabricated the skid at EPIC’s facility in St. Louis. During the project, Akermin and EPIC worked as a team, with the design going through several major revisions as it iterated through a range of desired pressures and temperature profiles. EPIC brought a expert knowledge of modular design and distillation systems to the project, which was complimented by Akermin’s intimate knowledge of their new technology.
The resulting successful pilot plant currently operates at the National Carbon Capture Center in Alabama and completed over 1,600 hours of operation earlier this year. Capturing above 80% of the CO2 from the flue gas exhaust, the system continues to work without needing biocatalyst replenishment. It has also been producing highly pure CO2, results Akermin is very happy with.
The money from the Denmark unit will go towards upgrading Akermin’s biocatalyst unit. The company wants to test an environmentally friendly solvent and an on-line biocatalyst replenishment system, according to Akermin’s last press release.
EPIC is excited to see the commercialization of a technology we helped scale-up. This is a great opportunity to for our friends at Akermin, and we couldn’t be happier for them. Congratulations on your international pilot plant, Akermin! We are looking forward to seeing the technology go commercial.