Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Carbon8 (Capturing and adding value to CO2 & hazardous waste to produce valuable aggregates for construction)
Reporting period: 2019-02-01 to 2019-05-31
This feasibility project addresses the issues of climate change and the circular economy that are of fundamental importance to society. Carbon8 Systems (C8S) has developed a CO2 capture and utilisation process known as Accelerated Carbonation Technology, which can be used to treat industrial wastes and manufacture products for the construction industry, thereby diverting waste from landfill, permanently capturing CO2 and reducing the need for the quarrying of natural aggregate.
C8S has licensed the technology in the UK for the treatment of Air Pollution Control Residues from Energy from Waste plants using pure CO2 delivered to site in a tanker, but has recently
developed a version of the technology that can be integrated into existing industrial processes by utilising the CO2 directly captured from the flue stack and treating the residues generated at the same site. The market for this version has been established for a number of waste streams. The environmental legislation around the reclamation of wastes as products, however, is perceived as a significant barrier to the use of the end-products of the process.
The objectives of this feasibility study were:
1. To achieve a clearer understanding of the market and legislation surrounding the aggregate products;
2. produce a specification for the products to gain the optimum value in the construction market and
3. undertake a preliminary investigation of methods to enhance the value of the end products and gain regulatory approval.
C8S has licensed the technology in the UK for the treatment of Air Pollution Control Residues from Energy from Waste plants using pure CO2 delivered to site in a tanker, but has recently
developed a version of the technology that can be integrated into existing industrial processes by utilising the CO2 directly captured from the flue stack and treating the residues generated at the same site. The market for this version has been established for a number of waste streams. The environmental legislation around the reclamation of wastes as products, however, is perceived as a significant barrier to the use of the end-products of the process.
The objectives of this feasibility study were:
1. To achieve a clearer understanding of the market and legislation surrounding the aggregate products;
2. produce a specification for the products to gain the optimum value in the construction market and
3. undertake a preliminary investigation of methods to enhance the value of the end products and gain regulatory approval.
C8S undertook a review of the current EU legislation surrounding End of Waste, assembled a list of potential end users of the products and discussed the ideal properties of a manufactured aggregate with several of them. C8S also undertook a literature review of the potential catalysts to improve CO2 uptake and other process parameters to improve the properties of the end product.
Despite being governed by the EU Waste Directive, it is clear that the legislation surrounding the use of the products from C8S’s process is country specific, but that there are opportunities to gain acceptance if the leaching of the products can be controlled. The major issue for re-use in unbound applications is the chloride content of some of the products but in bound applications, such as concrete blocks, the situation is less clear. The unique properties of the aggregate can be beneficial to marketing concrete blocks containing carbonated aggregate.