A new carbon capture and utilization facility will open in San Antonio, Texas, this week with the aim of generating a profit from carbon dioxide (CO2) that previously would have been released into the atmosphere.
Skyonic Corporation will open Capitol SkyMine on Tuesday, October 21 at Capitol Aggregates, an existing cement plant.
According to the company, the $125 million facility will have a total carbon impact of 300,000 tons annually through the direct capture of 75,000 tons of CO2 and transformation into solid, usable products, like baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), bleach and hydrochloric acid (HCl).
These chemicals are conventionally made using natural deposits of carbon found underground, and their manufacture usually results in more carbon emissions.
By capturing and using greenhouse gas emissions from the cement plant in this way, Skyonic expects the new facility to generate approximately $48 million in revenue and $28 million in annual earnings.
The company claims that its patented SkyMine process allows owners of industrial facilities or fossil fuel-fired power plants to capture up to 90 percent of CO2 emissions from flue gas and transform them into useful products.
“Our business partners can use this technology to meet emissions requirements, replace costly scrubbing technologies and increase revenues,” commented Joe Jones, founder and CEO of Skyonic.
The Capitol SkyMine facility is the first step in the company’s vision to mitigate the effects of industrial pollution and close the carbon cycle, Jones said.
The U.S. Energy Department has invested $28 million in the plant, according to the New York Times.
