Limenet has industrialised the geological carbon cycle by developing a technology that can permanently store CO₂ through calcium bicarbonates in the oceans
The raw materials used in this process are sea water, carbon dioxide and calcium carbonate.
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Thanks to natural chemistry, Limenet is able to react CO₂ with calcium carbonate, producing calcium bicarbonate.
The acceleration of this natural process occurs thanks to the use of electrical and thermal energy in the system.
Based on the energy cost and the resulting carbon footprint, Limenet is testing several solutions that allow the hybrid operation of the plant with electricity or biomass.
Step 1: Capture of CO₂ from the atmosphere
Half of the lime produced in step 3 of the process is used to capture CO₂ from the atmosphere. Either by carbonation of the lime itself or by using biogenic CO₂ from biomass gasification.
Step 2: Crushing - Calcination - Hydration
The calcareous raw material (calcium carbonate) is crushed, calcined and then processed into quicklime and carbon dioxide, through thermal decomposition in a furnace powered by renewable electricity. The quicklime is then hydrated to obtain the slaked lime.
Step 3: CO₂ storage of calcium bicarbonate calcination
Just over half of the lime produced is used to remove the carbon dioxide produced. The process takes place in the Limenet reactor: by mixing carbon dioxide and calcium hydroxide in sea water, calcium bicarbonate is obtained, which gives the marine environment its alkaline properties. The other half of the slaked lime is available for CO₂ capture described in step 1.
These steps allow for negative CO₂ emissions.
Carbon dioxide can also be removed from contactors (large fans) that filter the air capturing excess CO₂ or industrial processes, from “chimneys” of ships or industries where it can be captured through industrial filters.
This CO₂ is reacted with decarbonized slaked lime produced by Limenet to generate either carbonates or calcium bicarbonates. The latter, when dispersed in the sea, guarantee the increase of alkalinity and therefore benefits to the contrast of acidification of the sea.
All the reasons why our solution makes the difference
Patented
Technology covered by international PCT patent pending applications
Scalable
Modular, programmable technology for gigaton storage
Natural
Uses a natural process that is only accelerated
Eco-friendly
Counteracts acidification of the seas locally, keeping the pH stable
Certified
Sooner certified by a third party via MRV according to ISO 14064-2
Permanent
Stable between 10,000 and 100,000 years, no long-term monitoring needed
We have built the world’s largest plant for storing carbon dioxide in the sea in the form of calcium bicarbonate. Located in Augusta (Italy), this plant has a production capacity of 100 kg/h of CO₂ stored, a scale that exceeds by 100 times that of our pilot plant inaugurated in La Spezia (La Spezia) at the beginning of 2023.
