Australia opens its first carbon refinery to produce new products using captured CO2

Australia's first Carbon Refinery opened in New South Wales. It captures carbon dioxide from explosives giant Orica’s ammonia making operations on Kooragang Island and turns it into products such as glass, concrete, paper, and paper.

MCI Carbon developed the Myrtle Carbon Capture Utilisation and storage technology 15 years ago and the demonstration plant could potentially capture?2,500 tons of CO2 per year.

MCI Carbon's?technology is based on what's known as mineral carbonation. "This is Earth's natural?process of taking CO2 from the atmosphere and turning it into rock," said?CEO Marcus Dawe at the?event on Wednesday.

Chris Bowen, Australia’s Minister for Energy and Climate Change, as well as the Ambassadors of Japan, and Austria, attended the opening function.

Australia emits around 400 million tonnes of CO2 per year. Bowen revised its emissions reduction targets last year from 52% to 62% by 2035.

Carbon capture and storage (CCUS) is a technology that produces a product with 'carbon embodied'.

Bowen stated that "this will help (emitters), decarbonise while also making profit."

MCI is also?working on plans for an?factory scale carbon refinery to capture 50,000 tons of CO2 per year. Its technology is one of many?mineral-carbonation technologies that are being developed.

One example, by Arca in Canada, uses 'tailings,' or mining waste, to permanently trap carbon. Helen Clark, Kirby Donovan and Kirsten Clark contributed to this report.

(source: Reuters)