At Hatschek Cement Plant, the reasonable use of carbon dioxide is investigated

GMUNDEN DISTRICT / VÖCKLABRUCK DISTRICT. Greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) is on everyone’s lips as one of the causes of global warming. One of oö’s clean technology group. The research project supported by Business Upper Austria Agency with the participation of regional companies aims to enable the economically and environmentally reasonable use of CO2.

The Hatschek cement plant in Gmunden, which belongs to the Rohrdorfer group, wants to produce climate neutral by 2045 at the latest. Now they are participating in a research project on the economically and environmentally reasonable use of carbon dioxide. The objective of the industrial research project is to improve the energy-cost balance of CO2 from flue gases.

Improved separation of CO2 from flue gases

“This must be achieved using a carbon capture and symbiotic utilization process, and direct electrolysis of the flue gas CO2, as this ensures efficient head-to-tail energy process management,” says Philip Stadler, process engineer at Rohrdorfer Cement.

As in nature, the power of this innovation also comes from the cell: the new type of carbon dioxide absorption and electrolysis cell, which greatly simplifies the process and increases energy efficiency, is being developed by four companies in Upper Austria together with the University of Innsbruck.

Local companies participating in the research project

The basis of this is the modeling and simulation of the new process technology by experts from Engagement, a young company from Attnang-Puchheim. “The performance of the system can already be examined in detail during the engineering phase. This saves time and money,” explains ENRAG Director Roland Eisel.

In the company Hatchik At the Gmunden site, the electrolysis cell was designed and optimized through chemical testing and long-term measurements.

The Scheuch Ltd.Aurolzmünster, a plant manufacturer specializing in ventilation and environmental technology, plans and manufactures components for a modular industrial plant.

Brings expertise to industrial facility construction in terms of separation technology and cell perimeter construction GIG Karasek With production sites in Attnang-Puchheim and Gloggnitz as well as a planning office in Graz.

Working Group of Materials and Electrochemistry at the Institute of Physical Chemistry in University of Innsbruck Responsible for basic research on the project and investigates, among other things, the qualitative and quantitative nature of the products.

Environmentally friendly business system

“The overall goal is to establish the use of CO2 as a future line of action and to take and implement an innovative step in energy efficient exhaust gas cleaning and thus towards decarbonization. In the medium term, innovative technologies can be used to make CO2 usable as a raw material – For example for plastics or fuels,” emphasizes Dorian Wesley, Head of the Clean Technology Group and responsible for project management. In his view, an efficient carbon cycle economy can be created and the use of fossil resources such as oil or natural gas can be reduced.

The project is supposed to be completed in January 2023, and will be funded with funds from Upper Austria. Economic and Research Strategy # upperVISION2030 funded by the state of Upper Austria.