Provides Update on its Saint-Félicien Project and
Highlights Project Results Validated by an Independent Engineering
Firm
TSX-V: CST
QUEBEC CITY, April 29, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - CO2
Solutions Inc. (the "Corporation") (TSXV: CST) is pleased to report
that, after only two weeks, it has successfully completed the
commissioning of its first commercial carbon capture unit. The
project, with Fibrek General Partnership, a subsidiary of Resolute
Forest Products Inc. (TSX: RFP) (NYSE: RFP), and Serres Toundra
Inc., involved the deployment of a 30-tonne per day (tpd)
CO2 capture unit (the "Unit") and ancillary equipment at
the RFP pulp mill in Saint-Félicien, Quebec and the commercial reuse of the
captured CO2 by the adjacent Serres Toundra greenhouse
facility.
As part of the commissioning phase, the CO2 Solutions
contracted Tetra Tech, an independent consulting engineering
services firm, to review the Unit's operational efficiency and
deliver a performance audit report (the "Audit"). In particular,
the Corporation sought to validate the Unit's nominal capacity of
30 tonnes-CO2 per day and the ability of the pulp mill
to provide all the thermal requirements of the Unit with only
residual low-grade energy (i.e. hot water).
The Audit confirmed the following:
- The Unit and its components are accurately sized to produce at
least 30 tonnes-CO2 per day under normal operating
conditions.
- The quantity of thermal energy required by the reboiler of the
Unit is only 2.4 GJ/tonne-CO2.
- The required thermal energy is entirely provided by the pulp
mill through residual, low-grade energy (i.e. hot water) that has
nil-value and no parasitic impact on the mill's energy
balance.
- The quantity of electrical energy required to operate the Unit
translates into a cost of only C$7.35/tonne-CO2 (or less than
USD 5.00/tonne-CO2).
Along with these excellent results confirmed by the Audit, the
Corporation recorded two additional significant operating outcomes
during this commissioning period; the first is related to enzyme
half-life (i.e. durability), and the second is related
to the quality of the CO2 produced for delivery to the
greenhouse.
Regarding enzyme half-life, the configuration of the Unit
enabled a doubling of the enzyme's half-life relative to what had
been observed in earlier large-scale demonstrations of the
Corporation's technology. This gain is the result of modifications
to the process following the 2015 Valleyfield demonstration and
clearly demonstrates the cost reduction potential of the
Corporation's enzymatic technology.
With respect to CO2 quality, an analysis of the
samples drawn from the Unit confirmed its high degree of purity
which was well within the stringent guidelines required by
greenhouse operators. This purity level was obtained even though
the Unit draws raw and unpolished flue gas from the pulp
mill's lime kiln, which mimics conditions similar to those found in
cement plants and other industrial applications.
"We are very proud of the outstanding results confirmed by Tetra
Tech," stated Richard Surprenant,
CO2 Solutions' Chief Technology Officer. "Our
Saint-Félicien capture unit represents several firsts for the
global carbon capture industry:
- First commercial deployment of an enzymatic carbon capture
process;
- First carbon capture unit in the forest industry;
- First carbon capture from unpolished emissions of a lime
kiln.
- First capture unit using only residual thermal energy in the
form of hot water (and only 2.4 GJ/tonne-CO2) creating
no parasitic load on the host plant, a critical factor in reducing
the overall cost of carbon capture.
- First unit making extensive use of C-PVC as a low-cost material
in a carbon capture unit.
- Total combined cost of the thermal energy and the electricity
required by the Unit comes to only C$7.35/tonne-CO2 (or less than
USD 5.00/tonne-CO2), which
to our knowledge is an absolute low for a carbon capture unit of
any scale.
The fact that we have been able to demonstrate such an
outstanding performance after only two weeks of commissioning and
to achieve such a high-quality product from an unpolished flue gas
is testimony to the simplicity and durability of our enzymatic
technology. And of course, our enzymatic process doesn't use any
toxic materials or inputs, and generates no toxic wastes, effluents
or emissions. It's a cleantech that is truly clean!!"
The construction of the Saint-Félicien CO2
capture plant was partly financed with grants from Sustainable
Development Technology Canada (SDTC) and a loan from Canada
Economic Development (DEC). This project also received
financial support from the Green Fund through the Technoclimat
program of Quebec Energy Transition (Transition énergétique
Québec). Earlier research and development costs have been
subsidized, in part, through grants from the Natural Resources
Canada Energy Innovation Program.
During the coming weeks, the Corporation and its partners,
Resolute Forest Products and Serres Toundra, will prepare for the
expected transition to commercial operation of the Unit providing a
stream of clean captured CO2 to the nearby Serres
Toundra greenhouses. This milestone will confirm the enzymatic
technology's attainment of Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 8.
The Corporation continues to attract strong interest from
corporations worldwide seeking a proven, cost-effective and
environmentally friendly CO2 capture technology.
CO2 Solutions believes the breakthrough capture
technology it has developed can fulfil the industry's needs.
Evan Price, CO2
Solutions' Chief Executive Officer, reflects on the project and its
significance for the corporation and the industry: "We are very
appreciative of the support and cooperation we have received during
the project from our partners Resolute Forest Products and Serres
Toundra. I also want to take this opportunity to thank all the
contractors that have helped CO2 Solutions
successfully deliver this project. This 30-tonnes per day unit
is an important evolutionary step toward providing the technology
scale-up; a small but important step compared to where this
technology is heading. Our proprietary technology, with this
Saint-Félicien Unit, will provide recurring revenue for the
Corporation and be of interest to many parties from various
industrial segments."
About CO2 Solutions Inc.
CO2 Solutions is a carbontech leader in the
field of enzyme-enabled carbon capture and has been actively
working to develop and commercialize the technology for stationary
sources of carbon pollution. CO2 Solutions'
technology lowers the cost barrier to Carbon Capture, Utilization
and Sequestration (CCUS), positioning it as a viable
CO2 mitigation tool, as well as enabling industry
to derive profitable new products from these emissions.
CO2 Solutions has built an extensive patent
portfolio covering the use of carbonic anhydrase, or analogues
thereof, for the efficient post-combustion capture of carbon
dioxide with low‐energy aqueous solvents. Further information can
be found at www.co2solutions.com. Certain statements in this news
release may be forward-looking. These statements relate to future
events or CO2 Solutions' future economic performance and
reflect the current assumptions and expectations of management.
Certain unknown factors may affect the events, economic performance
and results of operation described herein. CO2 Solutions
undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
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SOURCE CO2 Solutions Inc.