NEWS SCOPE ENVIRONMENT Commercial-scale CO2 capture operation set for Capitol Aggregates mill
Construction at Capitol Aggregates' cement mill outside San Antonio, Texas, is nearing on a facility to capture 83,000 tons of car- bon dioxide and offset an additional 220,000 tons of the gas annually once the equipment is operational in 2014. Skyonic's electrolytic carbon capture technology,
SkyMine, will selectively remove CO2, acid gases and heavy metals emitted from the cement plant's flue gas streams and recycle it into hydrochloric acid, sodium bicarbon- ate and other byproducts. The San Antonio mill has successfully tested pilot SkyMine technology since Sky- onic landed a 2010 Department of Energy grant. The commercial scale facility is pro- ceeding after the company finalized its latest round of funding earlier this summer. New funding participants Northwater Capital Management, ConocoPhillips, BP, and PVS Chemicals are joining existing Skyonic in- vestors Carl Berg and Zachry Corporation, Capitol Aggregates parent. The funds will be used to support construction costs for the SkyMine groundbreaking by summer's end, advancement of a global portfolio of green carbon chemistry solutions, plus other re-
search & development and operations goals. SkyMine is a carbonate mineralization
technology that produces beneficial re-use products in a safe, efficient and profitable
manner, Skyonic officials contend. The process uses low-cost chemical inputs, pro- ducing high-value chemical outputs and op- eration at energy-efficient conditions.
20 | SEPTEMBER 2012
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