tAchE: febrero 2009

Bench Marketing
Zinc Based Fairy Dust
Novomer, a materials company based in Ithaca, New York, is one of the most highly publicized players in this emerging field. The 4-year-old company, led by president Charles Hamilton, is developing a line of high-performance, biodegradable plastics, polymers and other chemicals using carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. The company was built around technology developed at Cornell to use CO2 as a building block for chemicals to produce plastics.

Paper, Concrete, Fuel
Calera Corporation in Los Gatos, California, for example, has developed a nature-mimicking process that converts CO2 into cement - which is a product known for producing high levels of CO2. By removing CO2 from the atmosphere in the process of making a product that usually produces a lot of CO2 using other methods, the company is in a position to help reverse human-caused global warming and ocean acidification.

Carbon Sciences is another company gaining a lot of media attention for its process of turning CO2 waste into carbonate, and eventually into fuels. The company, led by CEO Derek McLeish, is focusing on two applications for its technologies. In the near term, says McLeish, the company is working on a CO2-to-carbonate technology that combines CO2 with industrial waste minerals and transforms them into calcium carbonate, a high value chemical compound used in paper production, pharmaceuticals and plastics.

The Santa Barbara-based firm claims to have developed a new “biocatalyst” technology that can convert carbon dioxide into the three basic hydrocarbons – methane, ethane and propane – needed to produce gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel and other liquid energy sources. The company plans to test the process next spring; if it proves effective and Carbon Sciences succeeds in deploying it on a larger scale, then the technology could help to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions from power plants, oil refineries, factories and other industrial sites – all while producing a clean and renewable supply of energy.
Carbon Sciences Chief Executive Officer Derek McLeish announced the breakthrough – which was invented and perfected by the firm’s chief technology officer, Naveed Aslam – at the International Summit on Policy, Technology and Investment, which took place late last September on the campus of Cambridge University in England.

Regular beverage vending machines use primarily hydroflurocarbon (HFC) systems to cool your drink of choice. Unfortunately, HFC systems are a major source of greenhouse gases. Coca Cola, the largest beverage company in the world, has decided to switch to CO2 systems in an effort to decrease Coke’s environmental impact.
Recently, Neville Isdell, Chief of Coca Cola, announced that his company was going to be purchasing 100,000 CO2 vending machines at a cost 25% higher than normal HFC units. He also noted that this was a direct response on the part of his company to lower Coca Cola’s environmental footprint.

Patents

Patent #1
Title: Amine enriched solid sorbents for carbon dioxide capture
Document Type and Number:
United States Patent 6547854

Abstract:
A new method for making low-cost CO2 sorbents that can be used in large-scale gas-solid processes. The new method entails treating a solid substrate with acid or base and simultaneous or subsequent treatment with a substituted amine salt. The method eliminates the need for organic solvents and polymeric materials for the preparation of CO2 capture systems.
Representative Image:

Inventors:
Gray, Mcmahan L. (Pittsburgh, PA)
Soong, Yee (Monroeville, PA)
Champagne, Kenneth J. (Fredericktown, PA)
Plaque It!

Application Number:
09/966570
Publication Date:
04/15/2003
Filing Date:
09/25/2001
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Export Citation:
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Assignee:
The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy (Washington, DC)
Primary Class:
95/139
Other Classes:
502/408, 502/411, 423/230, 95/148
International Classes:
B01D53/02; B01D53/62; B01J20/22; B01J20/32; B01J20/30; B01D53/04; B01J20/22
Field of Search:
423/228, 95/90, 95/285, 502/64, 502/439, 502/416, 423/230, 95/139, 502/408, 502/407, 95/148, 502/85, 502/411, 423/220, 423/229

Patent #2
Renewable energy system for hydrogen production and carbon dioxide capture
USPTO Application #: 20080245660
Title: Renewable energy system for hydrogen production and carbon dioxide capture
Abstract: The present invention is an integrated system for the production of hydrogen and the removal of carbon dioxide from the air or gas streams. The integrated system includes an energy source for generating electrical energy and a water source coupled to the energy source. The water source includes ionic electrolytes. The energy source supplies energy to the water source to electrolyze water to produce hydrogen gas, oxygen gas, acid and base. The carbon dioxide reacts with the base. In some embodiments, the energy source is a renewable energy source. The integrated system produces substantially no carbon dioxide and when combined with a renewable energy source, produces clean hydrogen fuel and reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide, resulting in carbon dioxide negative energy and manufacturing strategies. (end of abstract)
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is related to co-owned and co-pending application entitled ELECTROCHEMICAL APPARATUS TO GENERATE HYDROGEN AND SEQUESTER CARBON DIOXIDE, filed on the same day and assigned Ser. No. ______ and to co-owned and co-pending application entitled ELECTROCHEMICAL METHODS TO GENERATE HYDROGEN AND SEQUESTER CARBON DIOXIDE, filed on the same day and assigned Ser. No. ______, both of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the fields of renewable hydrogen production and carbon dioxide capture and sequestration. More specifically, the present invention relates to an integrated system that uses renewable energy in combination with water electrolysis to generate renewable hydrogen and capture and sequester carbon dioxide.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The electrochemical cleavage of water has traditionally been viewed as a method of producing hydrogen and oxygen gas. In traditional alkaline water electrolysis, two molecules of hydroxide base are produced and consumed for every molecule of hydrogen generated. One common method of producing hydroxide base uses the chloralkali process in which sodium chloride, rather than water, is electrolyzed. While effective, the chloralkali method generates abundant chlorine, a toxic by-product, and generates several tons of carbon dioxide pollution per ton of manufactured base when powered with electricity generated from fossil fuels.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the present invention is an integrated system for the production of hydrogen and the removal of carbon dioxide including an energy source and a water source. The energy source generates electrical energy. The water source is coupled to the energy source and includes ionic electrolytes. The energy source supplies energy to the water source to electrolyze water to produce oxygen gas, hydrogen gas, acid and base. The carbon dioxide reacts with the base. The integrated system produces substantially no carbon dioxide.
In another aspect, the present invention is a system for producing value-added products and removing carbon dioxide including a water electrolysis process and an energy source. The water electrolysis process produces hydrogen gas and a hydroxide base. The energy source supplies an electrical input to the water electrolysis process. The hydrogen gas is collected and supplements the energy source and the base removes atmospheric carbon dioxide. The system removes more atmospheric carbon dioxide than it produces.
In yet another aspect, the present invention is an integrated system for capturing and converting carbon dioxide to a value-added product. The integrated system includes a renewable energy source for generating electricity and a water electrolysis apparatus. The energy from the renewable energy source is supplied to the water electrolysis apparatus to produce hydrogen, oxygen, a base and an acid, which are sequestered. The atmosphere has an initial concentration of carbon dioxide prior to supplying energy from the renewable energy source to the water electrolysis apparatus. After supplying energy from the renewable energy source to the water electrolysis apparatus, the base produced reacts with the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere such that the atmosphere has a resulting concentration of carbon dioxide less than the initial concentration of carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is then converted to a value-added product.
In still another aspect, the present invention is a system for recovering carbon dioxide including a water electrolysis apparatus having an anode and a cathode and a renewable energy source coupled to the water electrolysis apparatus for providing electrical energy to the water electrolysis apparatus. The water electrolysis apparatus produces oxygen and aqueous acid at the anode and produces hydrogen and aqueous base at the cathode. The aqueous base produced by the water electrolysis apparatus is used to capture carbon dioxide. The system captures more carbon dioxide than the system produces and produces less than about 100 mg of chlorine per liter of electrolyte.
In another aspect, the present invention is an integrated water electrolysis system for the production of hydrogen, oxygen, acid and base. The system includes an aqueous electrolyte solution, an electrical source, an anode and anode region and a cathode and cathode region. The anode and anode reaction region generate between about 100 and about 10,000,000 times more hydronium ions than are initially present in the electrolyte solution and the cathode and cathode reaction region generate between about 100 and about 10,000,000 times more hydroxide ions than are initially present in the electrolyte solution. The carbon dioxide reacts with the hydroxide ions to form carbonate or bicarbonate. The integrated electrolysis system produces substantially no carbon dioxide.
These and other aspects, processes and features of the invention will become more fully apparent when the following detailed description is read with the accompanying figures and examples. However, both the foregoing summary of the invention and the following detailed description of it represent one potential embodiment, and are not restrictive of the invention or other alternate embodiments of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an integrated water electrolysis system, according to one embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a water electrolysis device of the integrated water electrolysis system of FIG. 1, according to one embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an alternative embodiment of the water electrolysis device of FIG. 2, according to one embodiment.

Patent #3

Morphic (STO:MORPB) has been granted a patent on a method and system for absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide using wind turbines, and then combining the CO2 with water and excess electricity to produce liquid biofuels. The technology for CO2 absorption has been verified in a laboratory environment, and the company is now looking for partnerships with a view to evaluating a potential commercialization of the concept.
Since 2004 Morphic has been conducting intensive research and development into energy conversion, covering processes as well as technical systems, with the aim of finding ways to convert and store renewable energy in various forms, and to adapt it for later use in fuel cells for a range of different applications.
The basic idea behind the patent is to absorb carbon dioxide using an enzyme, carbonic anhydrase, which is used to coat the blades of the wind turbine. The function is the same biochemical process that removes carbon dioxide from the blood in a human. An application for a patent on an “energy converter” for producing methanol from electricity, carbon dioxide and water was submitted as far back as 2004. The invention that has now been patented is a more advanced version of the same energy converter, where Morphic believes it has solved the problem of how to extract the CO2 from the air.
“The actual method and arrangement have been verified on a very small scale, with encouraging results. One of the big challenges in our R&D work now will be to find an economical way to release the captured carbon dioxide. There are several well known methods and processes for converting CO2 into methanol and other liquid fuels, and we are now working on analyzing and optimizing these”, Dan Borgström, Senior Advisor at Morphic Technologies AB, says.
“The invention could in time become a pioneering product in our product development portfolio. There’s a lot of development that remains to be done, of course, and many problems that we still need to solve, but now that we have secured our rights we can at last start to make contacts both in the research community and with industrial partners to find the most cost-effective way to evaluate and optimize the technology. Since carbon dioxide capture is now high on the global agenda, we believe the best approach to a future commercialization is through licensed sales,” Martin Valfridsson, Morphic Technologies’ President and CEO, says.
This is Morphic
Morphic is a Swedish engineering group operating in the areas of fuels cells, wind power, fuel cell energy systems and engineering technology. The Group has about 230 employees and conducts operations in six countries – Sweden, Norway, Japan, Greece, Italy and Switzerland. Morphic Technologies’ B shares have been listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange since March 4, 2008, and the number of shareholders is about 28,800.
Resources
 http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090203005601&newsLang=en
 http://www.freshpatents.com/Renewable-energy-system-for-hydrogen-production-and-carbon-dioxide-capture-dt20081009ptan20080245660.php
 http://www.zero.no/fossil/co2-en/technology/co2-storage/alternatives/using-co2-for-eor/view?set_language=en
 http://www.greenerdesign.com/feature/2008/10/20/carbon-dioxide-turns-useful
 http://cleantechnica.com/2008/08/26/one-companys-way-of-fighting-global-warming-transform-co2-into-useful-products/