Schlumberger announced today that it has entered into an agreement with RTI International, a non-profit research organization, to accelerate the industrialization and scale-up of its proprietary non-aqueous solvent (NAS) technology to improve absorption-based carbon capture efficiency. NAS technology will be suitable for capturing carbon dioxide emitted by various industries.
“As the global carbon budget is depleted, reducing emissions has become a societal imperative,” said Gavin Rennick, president of Schlumberger’s new energy business. “Carbon capture technologies are a key enabler for a low-carbon future – and we are delighted to have partnered with RTI Exclusive agreement to industrialize and scale this innovative carbon sequestration technology and bring it to market. “
NAS technology offers a compelling alternative to traditional aqueous solvent technologies for carbon capture, as it consumes less energy while maintaining high carbon dioxide capacity, resulting in significantly lower operating costs. NAS technology is also less corrosive—eliminating the need for advanced corrosion-resistant alloys and the associated increased capital costs. This improves the overall economics of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects.
“RTI has developed innovative NAS technology over the past 12 years, from laboratory scale to large engineering scale,” said Dr. Marty Lail, Senior Director of RTI’s Decarbonization Science Program. “NAS technology uses 40% less energy in the carbon dioxide capture process. Achieving high capture efficiency at lower energy costs is critical for widespread commercial use of carbon capture solvents.”
As part of an engineering-scale carbon capture demonstration project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the NAS technology was able to remove more than 99 percent of carbon dioxide from a natural gas combustion exhaust stream—the highest reported capture efficiency application of all carbon capture solvent technologies.
RTI and Schlumberger will collaborate to develop models that enable rapid design and process customization for step-by-step changes in CO2 capture operations, while leveraging Schlumberger’s global footprint to expand market opportunities for the technology.