Australian company pushes solution to maritime CO2 emissions

AN AUSTRALIAN company believes its technology may go a long way towards helping the global shipping industry cut CO² emissions.

The IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee has pledged to cut emissions 50% by 2050 while the European Union has begun mandatory emission reporting for large ships.

Enter the Australian business Calix and its so-called RECAST technology which, it argues, would cut emissions by capturing sulphur and CO² on the ship.

According to Calix, RECAST uses a dry exhaust gas scrubber with zero emissions lime.

This process is said to absorb more than 85% of the CO² and most of the sulphur, while also recovering the heat of absorption to add around 40% to the ship’s range, increasing efficiency.

Calix business development manager, Dr Brian Sweeney, said the business was seeking solutions to further reduce emissions.

“If RECAST technology were applied to the 25% of high-mileage ships that use 80% of global bunker fuel, our initial estimates indicate the reduction in emissions would make the total world maritime fleet carbon-negative,” he said.

According to Calix, the lime used in a RECAST scrubber must be manufactured in a shore-based Calix process lime producer, capturing the CO2 from raw limestone.

This technology is now being demonstrated in Belgium as part of the Low Emissions Intensity Lime and Cement Project, a Calix-led European-Australian collaboration.

“Initial estimates suggest RECAST could cost less than US$50 per tonne of CO² emissions saved, making it cost-effective as well as safe and reliable,” Dr Sweeney said.

Calix is currently seeking money to develop RECAST.

The core technology is a patented kiln built in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. From this kiln is produced a so-called “mineral honeycomb”.

Calix uses these minerals (said to be safe and environmentally friendly) to improve waste water treatment and phosphate removal.