【Frontiers of HaiChuan Chemical Technology】Converting carbon dioxide and nitrogen exhaust gases into ‘real money’”
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Recently, the **National Development and Reform Commission and other agencies issued the \"Notice on Promoting the Construction of Zero-Carbon Parks,\" which calls for the creation of demonstration scenarios using advanced and applicable low-carbon, zero-carbon, and negative-carbon technologies, in order to develop technology solutions with commercial value. Against this backdrop, the world’s first \"carbon-nitrogen co-production\" negative-carbon technology, independently developed by Carbon & Tech (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Carbon & Tech), is capable of turning carbon dioxide and nitrogen emissions into actual cash, thereby assisting low-carbon enterprises and the development of zero-carbon industrial parks. Recently, Qi Li, chairman of Carbon and Technology, shared the development history of this technology. The world’s first negative-carbon technology based on \"carbon-nitrogen co-production\" was developed. In 1994, the parent company of Carbon and Technology, Beijing Feida Jieneng Gas Separation Technology Co., Ltd., was established. Since then, the company has been specializing in the PSA gas separation industry for over 30 years. In 2018, some chemical industry clients, while using Feida Jieneng’s technology to separate nitrogen, expressed a need to separate and utilize carbon dioxide as well. Qi Li keenly realized that extending PSA technology to the field of carbon-nitrogen co-production held broad market prospects. As a result, she established the country’s first team dedicated to carbon capture, focusing on the new application of capturing carbon and nitrogen from factory combustion exhaust gases in order to accelerate the commercialization of these processing technologies. After China set its \"dual carbon\" goals, the demand for carbon dioxide capture and utilization surged, triggering a revolution in the gas industry. To meet industry demands, Qi Li decisively reorganized the carbon dioxide division, which was previously part of Feida Jieneng, into an independently operating entity focused on carbon technology, with a specialization in the capture and utilization of greenhouse gases. “In 2022, Carbon and Technology implemented three carbon dioxide capture projects, with a total annual capacity of 400,000 tons; the amount of carbon captured accounted for 1/10 of the country’s total carbon capture volume. The carbon capture volume of projects under construction currently amounts to 1.2 million tons, with applications spanning industries such as chemicals, oil field flooding, and agricultural gas fertilizers. ”Qi Li said.
“\"Replacing carbon with nitrogen\" to overcome profitability challenges In the field of carbon capture, high costs and low profits are recognized as major problems in this industry. Qi Li explained that at present, most carbon dioxide capture projects across the country have not yet become profitable. Carbon and Technology uses industrial carbon-containing exhaust gases as raw material; by capturing carbon dioxide, it is also possible to purify the nitrogen in the exhaust gases, resulting in two products: carbon dioxide and nitrogen. By using nitrogen to share the costs of carbon capture, the issue of inverted costs and selling prices is resolved, thereby contributing to the achievement of carbon neutrality goals. “Compared to the carbon dioxide capture cost of over 260 yuan per ton in the market, Carbon and Technology can keep this cost between 150 and 190 yuan per ton. The collected nitrogen is sold as a commodity at a price of about 0.22 yuan per standard cubic meter. Based on 100,000 tons of carbon-nitrogen combined recovery gas, the payback period for chemical plants is approximately 6 years on average, while the costs can be recovered in three to four years when using electricity from new energy sources. ”Qi Li did a cost-benefit analysis using the exhaust gases emitted by chemical plants as an example. Taking the carbon-nitrogen co-production project implemented by Xinfa Group through the use of carbon and technology as an example, the group previously produced nitrogen from air, with the cost of separating nitrogen being around 0.2 yuan per standard cubic meter; whereas under the co-production approach, the cost of recovering nitrogen is only a few cents per standard cubic meter. Xinfafa Group transports the captured carbon dioxide through pipelines to the smart agriculture gas-fertilizer project, resulting in significant improvements in crop yield and quality.
Finding a “home” for various greenhouse gases: Carbon and technology, through innovation, are driving the industry’s transition from being policy-driven to market-driven. Qi Li said that in terms of technological innovation, the company has filed more than 20 patents; it has been granted 3 domestic invention patents, 2 international invention patents, and 9 utility model patents. The company has also received the Second Prize in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award from the China Invention Association. Leveraging his extensive experience in PSA gas separation, Qi Li turned his attention to other areas of gas separation. Today, Carbon and Technology has established its operations in four key areas: carbon dioxide capture and recovery, methane purification, hydrogen drying and purification, and helium purification. It provides customized process solutions for enterprises’ carbon emission reduction projects, covering the entire scope from project diagnosis and economic analysis to process design and equipment supply. In 2009, Carbon and Technology initiated research and development on methane purification technology. Compared to the investment of hundreds of millions of yuan required for carbon dioxide capture, the investment needed for methane recovery is as low as millions of yuan; moreover, since methane can be directly converted into RNG for use as a fuel or for power generation, it offers better economic benefits. “We have calculated that the return on investment for methane purification and reuse is higher than that for carbon dioxide projects; as the demand for reducing methane greenhouse gas emissions grows, this area is expected to become a market hotspot in the next three to five years. ”Qi Li said. For the chemical industry, the key to seizing the opportunities presented by the \"dual carbon\" goals lies in transforming policy benefits into sustainable business models. To date, Carbon and Technology has established strategic partnerships with over a hundred design institutes, enterprises, and chemical industrial parks, including companies such as CNPC and Wanhua Chemical. It offers end-to-end solutions ranging from process package design to the production of key equipment. In the future, as the carbon trading market continues to expand and policies for methane control are gradually implemented, innovative enterprises like Carbon and Technology, which specialize in specific fields, will have even greater opportunities for growth.
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