Veolia launches site feasibility study ahead of a pilot project to capture carbon emissions from burning non-recyclable biogenic waste in UK energy recovery facilities (ERFs).
The project has been developed to produce green fuels by capturing, extracting and purifying CO2. Veolia said the process can create synthetic green end products, such as eKerosene, eMethanol and speciality chemical products.
Engineered by Veolia’s in-house design teams, the system uses Advanced Amine technologies to capture carbon emissions from the combustion of non-recyclable biogenic waste, which is present in about 60% of the carbon dioxide emissions generated as a result of the incineration process.
The biogenic Carbon Dioxide can be combined with green hydrogen to create fuels such as eMethanol and Sustainable Aviation Fuel, reducing the carbon intensity of shipping and air travel, Veolia said.
Veolia said the Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) implementation project has the potential to enable its ERFs in the UK to make carbon savings of over 100,000 tonnes per year.
This development, combined with greater recycling and the removal of plastics from waste streams, will further reduce carbon emissions from ERFs.
As part of the project, the CCUS technology can be integrated into existing energy recovery sites, resulting in near-zero, or even negative, CO2 emission power generation, Veolia said.
The Advanced Amine Carbon Capture process has four major stages. Firstly, the Flue gas is cooled and trace pollutants are removed before the amine solvent captures the CO2 and clean flue gases are returned to the flue.
The solvent is then heated with steam produced by the ERF which produces a CO2-rich stream whilst also regenerating the solvent for circling it back to the absorption process. Finally, the CO2 is dehydrated and compressed to produce a nearly 100% pure CO2 stream which can be used to create new products or stored.
Veolia operates ten ERFs in the UK, which it said take around 2.3 million tonnes of non-recyclable waste to convert into electricity for over 400,000 homes. Some of these facilities also produce heating for communities through district heating networks, by using combined heat and power technology.
Commenting on this new technology, Donald Macphail, Chief Operating Officer – Treatment, at Veolia said: “This latest innovation marks a major step forward in our ability to utilise non-recyclable waste and captured CO2 to create the next generation of fuels.
“This development, combined with greater recycling and the removal of plastics from waste streams, will further reduce carbon emissions from ERFs. It will also make a major contribution to meeting net zero targets that protect the environment for the future, and support our commitment to achieve ecological transformation.”
