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Search results for: “direct air capture”

  • Industrial gases: air separation units?

    Industrial gases: air separation units?

    Cryogenic air separation is used to produce 400MTpa of oxygen, plus pure nitrogen and argon; for steel, metals, ammonia, wind-solar inputs, semiconductor, blue hydrogen and Allam cycle oxy-combustion. Hence this 16-page report is an overview of industrial gases. How does air separation work? What costs, energy use and CO2 intensity? Who benefits amidst the energy…

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  • Membranes for carbon capture: separation anxiety?

    Membranes for carbon capture: separation anxiety?

    Next-generation membranes could separate out 95% of the CO2 in a flue gas, into a 95% pure permeate, for a cost of $20/ton and an energy penalty below 10%, which greatly exceeds the best amines. This 15-page note lays out ten key questions, to help decision makers de-risk next-generation CCS membranes. The technology is early-stage.…

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  • Carbon capture: how big is the opportunity?

    Carbon capture: how big is the opportunity?

    This 13-page note quantifies the upside case for CCS in the United States, using top-down and bottom-up calculations. Our conclusion is that a clear, $100/ton incentive could help CCS scale by c25x, accelerating over 500MTpa of projects in the next decade, cutting US CO2 by 10%.

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  • CO2 capture: a cost curve?

    CO2 capture: a cost curve?

    This data-file summarizes the costs of capturing CO2. The lowest-cost options are to access pure CO2 streams that are simply being vented at present. Next are blue hydrogen, steel and cement, which could each have GTpa scale. Power stations place next, at $60-100/ton. DAC is carbon negative but expensive.

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  • Carbon capture on ships: raising a sail?

    Carbon capture on ships: raising a sail?

    CCS is adapting to โ€˜go to seaโ€™. 80% of some shipsโ€™ CO2 emissions could be captured for a cost of c$100/ton and an energy penalty of just 5%, albeit this is the best case within a broad range. This 15-page note explores the opportunity, challenges, progress and who might benefit.

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  • Commercial aviation: air travel economics?

    Commercial aviation: air travel economics?

    This data-file estimates the economics of a passenger jet, over the course of its life: i.e., what ticket price must be charged to earn a 10% IRR after covering the capex costs of the plane, fuel costs, crew, maintenance and airport and air traffic charges. Decarbonization is challenging.

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  • Global heat pump sales by country?

    Global heat pump sales by country?

    Global heat pump sales by country are tabulated in this data-file, for 14 countries/regions. Developed world heat pump sales rose at an 11% CAGR over the decade since 2012, reaching 7M units sold in 2022, but then unexpectedly fell by -10% in 2023, including YoY declines in 7 out of the 14 countries we are…

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  • Membrane Technology and Research: CCS breakthrough?

    Membrane Technology and Research: CCS breakthrough?

    Membrane Technology and Research Inc. (MTR) is a private company, specializing in membrane separations, for the energy industry, chemicals and increasingly, CCS. Its Gen 2-3 Polaris membranes have 50x CO2:N2 selectivity, 2,000-3,000 GPU permeabilities, and are at TRL 6-7. Is there a moat?

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  • Cemvita Factory: microbial breakthroughs?

    Cemvita Factory: microbial breakthroughs?

    Cemvita is a private biotech company, based in Houston, founded in 2017. It has isolated and/or engineered more than 150 microbial strains, aiming to valorize waste, convert CO2 to useful feedstocks, mine scarce metals (e.g., direct lithium extraction) and “brew” a variant of gold hydrogen from depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs. This data-file is our Cemvita Factory…

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  • Adiabatic flame temperature: hydrogen, methane and oil products?

    Adiabatic flame temperature: hydrogen, methane and oil products?

    At an idealized, 100% stoichiometric ratio, the adiabatic flame temperature for natural gas is 1,960ยบC, hydrogen burns 300ยบC hotter at 2,250ยบC and oil products burn somewhere in between, at around 2,150ยบC. The calculations show why hydrogen cannot always be dropped into an existing turbine or heat engine.

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