SCHWENK has signed a contract with Capsol Technologies to supply a CapsolGo® carbon capture pilot plant for the two cement plants in Brocēni, Latvia, and Akmenės Cementas in Lithuania.

Feasibility studies on the use of Capsol and the associated hot potassium carbonate (HPC) technology were conducted at the Brocēni site of SCHWENK Latvija early this year. Based on these findings, SCHWENK has signed a contract for the deployment of a mobile pilot plant.

CapsolGo® is an innovative, container-based pilot plant designed to remove CO₂ from the exhaust gases of industrial facilities. The goal is to use the plant to gather key insights, data, and information that will help evaluate a potential tail-end solution for capturing CO₂ from the cement manufacturing process, thereby supporting the future selection of a suitable decarbonization solution for each site.

In addition to the project in Mergelstetten, where a so-called oxyfuel kiln is being built and tested as a process-integrated solution, SCHWENK is now investing in another technology alongside Capsol, thereby laying yet another important cornerstone on the path to more sustainable cement production.

The CapsolGo® pilot plant will be deployed alternately at the Brocēni and Akmenė sites for one year starting in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Technology info box:

CapsolGo is an innovative, container-based pilot plant developed by Capsol that is designed to efficiently remove CO₂ from the exhaust gases of industrial facilities. This system uses a method known as “hot potassium carbonate scrubbing.” In this process, a liquid chemical substance—in this case, potassium carbonate—is sprayed into the CO₂-containing exhaust gases, where it binds the CO₂.

The process is similar to the amine wash, but uses potassium carbonate instead of amines.

As a so-called tail-end solution, CapsolGo offers companies the opportunity to test Capsol technology to see if it is suitable for the CO2 emissions from their own facilities.