A cross-posting from my Fieldnotes from Iceland blog.
This is a technology which is being developed to remove Carbon Dioxide from the air.
It uses a large amount of energy to do this, but Iceland has a lot of geothermal energy that is being used to fuel one of the first trial large-scale plants.
The first DAC plant is called Orca. It is located in Iceland.
On September 8, 2021, Climeworks launched Orca, the world’s first and largest direct air capture and storage plant, making carbon dioxide removal on large-scale a reality.
The company improved the capture capacity of Orca by applying a new technology design. The facility consists of eight collector containers, with an annual capture capacity of 500 tons each. The containers are arranged around a central process hall that accommodates all electrics, such as the processing unit, allowing it to be operated and controled from afar.
The heat and electricity required to run the direct air capture process is supplied by the Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant.
An important aspect was that Orca is smoothly integrated into the beautiful Icelandic landscape.
The carbon is stored beneath the ground.
- Air is drawn in through a fan located inside the collector. Once sucked in, it passes through a filter located inside the collector which traps the carbon dioxide particles.
- When the filter is completely full of CO₂, the collector closes, and the temperature rises to about 100°C — about the same temperature it takes to boil water for a cup of tea!
- This causes the filter to release the CO₂ so it can be collected and pumped underground.
The plant can be viewed from a distance and will be a good talking point in Iceland for future tours. Which reminds me that I am heading there in 3 weeks' time.
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