By 2021 Britain will have its most powerful carbon capture plant, stopping the equivalent of 22,000 cars‘ worth of emissions (40,000 tons) a year rising into the atmosphere. Tata Chemicals Europe (TCE) is making it happen because the company needs the plant to reduce its emissions since it plans to increase the production of high-purity sodium bicarbonate. Now that the UK government has signed a law to reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050, big companies like TCE have to prepare by reducing emissions now.
Global Demands
Liquid carbon dioxide is a crucial ingredient in high-grade sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). It’s mainly used in the pharmaceutical sector and for hemodialysis, a type of treatment for kidney failure. “Global demand for this grade of sodium bicarbonate is growing as more of the world’s population has access to healthcare,” TCE said in a statement. The project will help the company increase its exports.
The Plant
Power generated from a gas-fired plant supplies electricity for the company’s operations. This new carbon capture plant will capture the carbon dioxide from this power plant and cut emissions by 11%. Located in the town of Northwich in Cheshire, TCE and other industrial businesses in the area will benefit from this new project. It will trap 100 times more carbon dioxide than the UK’s current largest facility. For scale, Yara’s carbon capture facility at Sluiskil captures up to 800,000 tons of CO2 a year, making it the largest industrial CCS facility in Europe. Then, TCE will recycle the emissions captured by using it to help make the chemicals found in antacids, eye drops, and Pot Noodle.
The project costs £16.7 million and is supported by a £4.2 million grant from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. “This innovative project from Tata Chemicals Europe represents a major milestone in efforts to roll out carbon capture at scale by the 2030s,” said Chris Skidmore, the minister for energy and clean growth.
Net Zero Law
By 2050, the UK plans to have reduced all greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero. The UK must fully offset any emissions through measures such as planting trees and carbon capture. Those with the most work to do to meet this requirement include energy-intensive industries, such as chemicals, cement, and oil refining, as they are responsible for around a quarter of global emissions.
“Cutting-edge technology to capture carbon will cut emissions as we work towards a net-zero economy while creating new jobs – a key part of our modern industrial strategy,” said Skidmore.
