Conference to shed light on CO2-based production technologies

9th March 2018

     

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The sixth edition of the international Carbon Dioxide as Feedstock for Fuels, Chemicals and Polymers conference will take place in Cologne, Germany, in mid-March.

More than 200 industry and research experts are expected to attend the symposium. Organiser, independent institute Nova-Institute, has once more managed to attract leading international speakers, who will discuss the latest developments in this future-orientated field.

The conference will shed light on carbon dioxide- (CO2-) based production technologies for fuels, chemicals, polymers and even proteins. A broad portfolio of technologies will be discussed, ranging from chemical catalysis to industrial biotechnology.

The event will be held under the patronage of Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia’s Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy Minister Dr Andreas Pinkwart, who will also be the keynote speaker at the conference.

Using CO2 as feedstock has topped the agenda of innovative research projects and companies for several years. The underlying idea is to achieve a more circular use of greenhouse gas and, at the same time, to avoid additional emissions through substituting raw materials, such as natural gas and crude oil with CO2-based products.

Internationally, the technologies used are summarised under the term ‘carbon capture and utilisation’ (CCU). CCU embraces a range of technologies that allow CO2 and other emissions – among them carbon monoxide and synthesis gas in particular – to be used for the production of various commodities.

Rapid Development
Over the past few years, public research funders in Germany and the European Union (EU) have increasingly understood the significance of these new technologies and consequently support numerous research projects, working in close collaboration with the private sector.

It is only a matter of time before CO2, along with crude oil, natural gas, coal and biomass, is an important feedstock of the chemicals and energy industries – adding to the benefits of renewable energies and addressing climate protection goals.

The conference, which takes place every year, provides an overview of the latest developments and applications; it has developed into the central meeting place of this aspiring industry. Leading scientists will gather in Cologne, as will representatives of start-up companies and pioneers as well as innovative large corporations.

What’s New
This year’s conference will showcase the latest CCU developments. The first session will be dedicated to politics, innovation and implementation strategies, with talks by delegates from EU institution the European Commission, German federal ministry of education and research, research and technology organisation Flemish Institute for Technology and South African scientific research and development organisation Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

These lectures will be followed by deep insights into the field of sustainability and political frameworks. Lappeenranta University professor Christian Breyer will analyse the potential of global renewable energies for the use of CO2. Research and innovation services provider VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland researcher Dr Juha-Pekka Pitkänen will shed light on the production of single-cell proteins for the production of feed proteins from CO2 and electricity. Engineering company Climeworks marketing and sales head Daniel Egger will give participants insights into the current status of his company’s technology that allows CO2 to be captured straight from the atmosphere, as well as providing details on the experience of constructing the first such pilot plant of its kind.

The second conference day will be more technical in nature, focusing on the CO2-based production of chemicals, polymers and fuels. The session on chemicals and polymers includes, among others, presentations by speakers from Wageningen University, Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies and the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia.

Industrial biotechnology company Phytonix Corporation is the conference’s gold sponsor. Phytonix Corporation CEO and founder Bruce Dannenberg will give an account of developments and collaboration projects at his company.

Project managers from multinational conglomerate Thyssenkrupp and Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology UMSICHT will present the Carbon2Chem project, which is considering the use of steel industry emissions for the sustainable production of fuels.

Sustainable aviation fuel company SkyNRG will discuss challenges and opportunities to produce sustainable aviation fuels using CO2-based technologies. In their presentation, engineering company Bse Engineering Leipzig will focus on energy consumption in the CO2-to-fuels conversion process.

The conference will take place from March 15 to 16.

Edited by Zandile Mavuso
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Features

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