Blue Planet Products

The production of one ton of cement typically results in the emission of about one ton of CO2. With the annual global production of cement at roughly 4 billion tons, the construction industry is a major carbon emitter.

California-based Blue Planet has developed a technology that captures CO2 from flue streams and creates carbonate minerals to replace the Portland cement or aggregate components of concrete, or to be used in other green building materials. Their low temperature and low pressure process is inspired by the biomineralization of corals, which use dissolved CO2 to grow solid reefs. Blue Planet’s process has overcome the high capital and operating costs of similar technologies. When paired with a cement or coal plant’s flue stream, the technology can produce concrete that is carbon negative. Scaled globally, Blue Planet could sequester more than 10 billion tons of CO2 over the next four decades.

This type of technology is needed to reduce the 5 to 7 percent of global CO2 emissions attributed to cement production and beyond. Pilot scale operations are underway in the U.S.; Terrapin is working with Blue Planet to identify potential sites in New York.

Converge Polyols

Conventional plastics, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, consist of chains of carbon atoms derived from petroleum. Novomer, a chemical company based in Massachusetts and New York, has taken inspiration from the carbon cycle in photosynthetic organisms and developed technologies that capture and use waste carbon monoxide (CO) and CO2 in the creation of valuable polymers and chemical intermediates. Their proprietary catalyst enables the low temperature (~35°C/95°F) and low pressure incorporation of CO2 into the molecular backbone of plastics, resulting in a CO2/CO-derived carbon content of 50 percent.

Novomer’s Converge materials boast high performance metrics and cost competitiveness. After scaling to a production rate of thousands of tons per year, their products are being used in commercial applications by several adhesive and polyurethane manufacturers, including Germany-based Jowat AG.

Products in development

Solar fuels

The emerging technology artificial photosynthesis combines water, CO2 and solar energy into liquid or gaseous fuel (solar fuels) in a process akin to natural photosynthesis. These high-energy molecules, such as methane and other hydrocarbons, hold the potential to seamlessly fit into our existing energy and transportation infrastructure.

With assistance from Terrapin, Jiandi Wan of Rochester Institute of Technology is mimicking not only the system but the physiology of photosynthesizers by using microfluidics and photochemistry to produce solar fuels. By emulating the small fluid channels seen in leaves, the device forces the reactants (CO2 and water) into proximity, creating a more effective platform to chemically reduce them to solar fuels. This elegant replication of photosynthesis takes advantage of readily available materials and sunlight.