Green CO2 can be used in the food and beverage industry, in metallurgy and in wastewater treatment. Understand the model.
Investing in new energy sources and business models is critical for countries that want to move forward in the energy transition. In this sense, Brazil has stood out, seeking new partnerships and solutions to develop the energy generation sector.
Green CO2 is a renewable source and a sustainable substitute for traditional carbon dioxide, which is one of the greenhouse gases. This new energy source can be used from the food and beverage industry to metallurgy with the heat treatment of welds and the sanitation sector with the treatment of effluents.
For this model to develop, it is important that the process is economically viable, as well as taking environmental and social aspects into account. In addition, investing in this type of project makes the Brazilian matrix increasingly diversified and independent of single sources.
Green CO2 Projects
The Paris Agreement signed in 2015 by 195 nations stipulated that the goal would be to keep the global temperature rise below 2ºC by the end of the century. However, studies indicate that the target will not be achieved if the economy does not become carbon neutral. That is, until then it will be necessary to consume more carbon dioxide than is emitted to ensure that the goals are reached.
Analyzing this scenario, it is essential that new projects, such as the green CO2 project, be developed and planned. After all, from a technological point of view, CO2 needs to be the raw material for other products, which do not have such a short life cycle.
A partnership between the Chemical and Textile Industry Technology Center (Senai Cetiqt) with Repsol Sinopec Brasil, Hytron and the Chemical Engineering department of the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (USP) started the “CO2CHEM” project, which aims to objective to develop technological alternatives for the production of green hydrocarbons from carbon dioxide (CO2).
With financial support from the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) and the Brazilian Industrial Research and Innovation Company (Embrapii), the project aims to reduce carbon in the atmosphere, contributing to the achievement of goals, such as the Paris Agreement. In this model, the raw materials are carbon dioxide, water and electricity, which must generate a product equivalent to oil.
The expectation is that, in 2023, there will already be a pilot unit the size of a container, which can be transported to places where there is a large production of CO2, for the production of the first drops of synthetic fuel, called green hydrocarbon.
Brazilian investments and technology
Other countries are also looking into these challenges, looking for alternatives. These green CO2 projects developed in Brazil place the country as a protagonist and holder of know-how, which are technologies that convert CO2 into products.
In February 2022, another green carbon gas production project was announced. In this case, the fuel will be generated from biomethane from organic waste from a sanitary landfill in Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro. The expected investment is R$ 45 million and is part of a larger project to allocate R$ 1.2 billion. This plant is expected to start operating in 18 months, generating around 100 tons of green CO2 per day, representing 10% of daily consumption in Brazil.
Thus, the production of green CO2 becomes a solution, as the green hydrocarbons generated consume several CO2 molecules and, at the end of the process, carbon is negative. That is, carbon is removed from the atmosphere and replaced by a fuel option that does not generate this problem.
Grupo Urca will invest R$ 45 million in a green CO2 production plant that will be installed at the Seropédica Waste Treatment Center. It will be the first in the country to produce carbon dioxide using the #biomethane generated from organic waste from a sanitary landfill. According to Marcel Jorand, executive director of Urca, the plant will generate around 100 tons of Green Carbonic Gas per day, which will be produced and resold. This amount represents about 10% of Brazil’s daily consumption of CO2.
In addition to having renewable fuel at its origin, avoiding the emission of greenhouse gases, Green Carbon Gas has several uses, such as in metallurgy, in the sanitation sector and in the food and beverage industry.
If you are interested in this subject and want to understand better about the decarbonization of the energy matrix, read the content on the blog.
