NW Natural is partnering with Calgary, Alberta-based CleanO2 to pilot the use of carbon-capture technology with some of NW Natural’s commercial customers.
CleanO2’s CarbinX units capture carbon dioxide emissions at the point of combustion. They convert the emissions into potassium carbonate, also known as pearl ash, which is then used to make soap and other cleaning products.
NW Natural is overseeing the installation of the CarbinX units, along with equipment to monitor carbon and natural gas savings, in the first quarter of 2023 at businesses in the Portland metro area. At the end of the six-month pilot period, the monitoring equipment will be removed, and the commercial customer will be invited to take ownership of the CarbinX unit at no additional cost.
“Many decarbonization solutions are expensive, have long lead times, are far away and, at best, neutral … but not so with CarbinX,” Holly Braun, energy innovation and policy manager at NW Natural, told American Gas. “Customers can reach out and touch these units capturing carbon in real time. Further, for customers running their process on renewable natural gas, these units will actually contribute to carbon-negative production.”
With a CarbinX unit, a portion of the carbon dioxide emissions from natural gas-fueled water heaters and boilers passes through a chemical reaction chamber. Hydroxide reacts with the emitted carbon dioxide and water to create carbonates—the pearl ash used to make soap. Waste heat is returned to the domestic hot water supply, reducing overall energy consumption. Because the carbon dioxide is converted into a carbonate, it is never released into the atmosphere, even when used.
NW Natural pursued the technology—which has also been piloted by CenterPoint Energy in the United States and FortisBC and ATCO in Canada—after consulting with peers and completing reviews of the full-life-cycle carbon savings. The Portland, Oregon-based utility found the carbon-to-value prospect of the technology—transforming liabilities like carbon into assets that can be monetized—particularly intriguing.
According to Braun, NW Natural is looking at CarbinX as one of several carbon-capture technologies it’s hoping to promote and incentivize as part of its 2050 decarbonization strategy.