Carbon America’s novel cryogenic carbon capture technology, FrostCC™, has successfully completed 1,000 hours of testing at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC), a neutral research facility for third-party carbon capture developers, located in Wilsonville, Alabama.
FrostCC™ is a cryogenic point-source carbon capture system which removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from flue gas before it is released into the atmosphere. It does this by cooling the flue gas below the sublimation temperature of CO2, causing it to "frost" as dry ice and physically separate from the gas mixture. This solid CO2 is periodically melted and collected as a liquid, making it ready for compression and transportation to storage sites. FrostCC™ does all of this without the use of water or chemicals and runs exclusively on electricity.
During its testing at NCCC, FrostCC™ successfully demonstrated its ability to capture carbon dioxide and co-pollutants from flue gas and further validated the process and models for design. The next step in development for FrostCC™ will be a demonstration of its full-scale commercial product. “The prospects of this breakthrough technology inspired Carbon America’s founding and we’re excited to see it realized. It has been inspiring to watch it go from a concept to an engineering-scale pilot that has achieved material results,” said Brent Lewis, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Carbon America.
The team also ran systematic tests to explore the operational boundaries of FrostCC™. These tests were designed to further the understanding and characterization of the system's performance in a relevant environment and under realistic conditions, achieving a technology readiness level (TRL) of 6. “Experimental data from the testing at NCCC not just proved FrostCC’s™ viability as an effective carbon capture technology, but also validated the physics-based models that enable design of the commercial product. Looking to the future we have confidence in our path to a commercial product,” said Miles Abarr, Chief Technology Officer.
“Key differentiators for our innovative technology include its proven ability to remove co-pollutants without separate treatment, and no concerns about other environmental emissions. Coupled with plug-and-play retrofit ability and economies of scale driven by mass manufacturing and existing supply chains, FrostCC™ presents an unparalleled opportunity to do maximum clean up with one simple solution,” reflected Head of Commercial Development and Policy Ashleigh Ross.
Following the NCCC pilot, Carbon America plans to deploy the first iteration of the standard commercial FrostCC™ module. This module will be ready for broad commercial application across various emission-intensive industries such as power plants, cement and steel, pulp and paper, and other production facilities.
