Vacuum solutions for carbon capture technologies
Intelligent vacuum systems enable to grow Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage technologies
Vacuum solutions for carbon capture
Climate change is a fact that cannot be ignored. The increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration caused by our dependence on fossil fuels is one of the main reasons for global warming. Industrial growth, along with our consumption of oil, coal and natural gas, is releasing CO2 that had been trapped for millions of years. To combat this, Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technologies are being developed worldwide. These technologies aim to reduce CO2 emissions and even decrease the existing CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. Its main objective is to capture CO2 from plant emissions or directly from the air and either use it to replace fossil fuels or store it to reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technologies are the answer to some of the world’s biggest challenges:
- Capturing CO2
- Using CO2 and converting it into fuels or chemical raw materials
- Transporting CO2
- Storing CO2 over the short term
- Storing CO2 and keeping it out of our atmosphere over the long term
Which carbon capture processes is vacuum used in?
The scientific world is investigating various methods for capturing, storing and reusing carbon, and for most of these technologies, vacuum is an important element. Some of the techniques that companies are experimenting with include:
Fossil fuel pre-treatment and pre-combustion carbon capture
One of the most advanced technologies for carbon capture is applied as soon as it’s dug up from downstream plants. Capturing CO2 directly from raw material prevents it from spilling into the atmosphere during combustion.
Fossil fuels, such as natural gas, can be converted into a gas mixture of hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2) through a process called “gasification”. This process involves converting fossil fuels into a gas mixture of hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2). This gas mixture is then treated with a shift reaction to convert most of the CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen. The resulting gas mixture is then treated with a process called pressure swing adsorption or another suitable technology to separate the CO2 from the hydrogen. This is the stage where vacuum technology comes in.
The separated CO2 can be stored or used in other industrial processes, while the purified hydrogen becomes a clean energy source. Pre-combustion carbon capture is often used in integrated gasification combined cycle power plants, where it can significantly reduce CO2 emissions while providing energy.
Post-combustion carbon capture processes
These processes use solvents or absorbents to capture CO2 from industrial “flue gas”. Vacuum is then used to remove the captured CO2 from the solvent, a process called “stripping” or “regeneration”. Once the CO2 is released and collected, it can be stored for further use.
Direct air carbon capture technologies (DAC carbon capture)
This type of technology captures CO2 from the ambient air, using solid sorbents or absorbents that are regenerated under vacuum conditions. This regeneration process releases the captured CO2 for collection, much in the same way as post-combustion carbon processing.
Which vacuum pump technology is used in carbon capture processes?
Capturing and removing CO2 almost always involves a filtration of sorption technique – either physical sorption or chemical sorption, whichever stage in which the carbon capture happens. Some of these techniques include:
- VPSA (Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption)
- Membrane processes
- Chemical looping using amine-based chemicals
Vacuum plays an important role in these processes, and we have the vacuum pump technologies to support them. For Carbon Capture applications, the following products can be used:
- CLAWVAC
- DRYVAC
- VARODRY / VARODRY System
- VACUBE
- Multi-VAControl
- Vacuum sensors and gauges
CLAWVAC
CO2 capturing often requires handling a large amount of water vapors along with the captured CO2. Our CLAWVAC pumps have a proven track record of handling this challenge. The scalability of our CLAWAC systems make this solution expandable, even for large CO2 farms.
DRYVAC
The DRYVAC family is our work-horse for many challenging industrial applications. This pump is renowned for its reliability and uptime. It also performs with the highest energy efficiency, especially in combination with the E-Saver. It’s the perfect fit for a “green” market which requires the lowest level of power consumption.
VARODRY
Our air-cooled VARODRY pumps are the perfect fit for research installations or small-scale CO2 farms that require low desorption pressures. They offer small and mid-size pumping capacities without oil emission and do so silently and with a high level of energy efficiency..
VACUBE
For applications requiring high pumping speeds at a fixed pressure, our VACUBE is the proven vacuum solution. Even with fluctuating vacuum flows, its energy-efficient FC control can match its pumping speed to the exact requirement. As a result, this pump only consumes as much as energy as it really needs, saving energy.
Multi-VAControl
A MultiVAC controller orchestrates your vacuum pumps, even when they’re different types. With a controller, you can precisely manage your vacuum system, easily scaling your installation up or down, which makes them perfect for CO2 farms gradually looking to expand.
Vacuum sensors and gauges
Leybold also offers an extensive portfolio of vacuum sensors and gauges required for controlling processes. Our sensors and gauges are robust, accurate and respond quickly. They're perfect for support demanding CCUS applications.