National Award for Recycling Carbon Technology

Context: Recently, Bengaluru-based start-up has received the National Award 2021 from the Technology Development Board for developing a commercial solution for conversion of carbon dioxide to chemicals and fuels.
About the Start-up

• The start-up ‘Breathe Applied Sciences’ incubated at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru developed efficient catalysts and methodologies for the conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) to methanol and other chemicals.
• The start-up has also signed an agreement with JNCASR, an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology, for transfer of the technology based on lab-scale research on reducing CO2 to methanol and other useful chemicals and fuels.

Salient Feature of this development
It has led to improvisation of process engineering to enhance the production of chemicals and fuels from anthropogenic CO2 generated from various sources including 

• Coal and natural gas power generation sectors, 
• Steel industry, 
• Cement industry, and 
• Chemical industries. 

Integrating multiple components involved in the CCUS (Carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration) to develop a complete solution for the environmental issues due to global warming.

• In the pilot mode, the current capacity of CO2 conversion is 300 kg per day.
• It can be scaled up to several 100 tons on an industrial scale.  It will take some time to reach the level of industrial production. 

Carbon capture/Sequestration Technique

• It is the long-term storage of carbon in plants, soils, geologic formations, and the ocean.
• It occurs both naturally and as a result of anthropogenic activities and typically refers to the storage of carbon.

Natural Carbon Sequestration

• It is the process by which nature has achieved a balance of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere suitable for sustaining life. Animals expel carbon dioxide, as do plants during the night.
• Nature provided trees, the oceans, the earth and the animals themselves as carbon sinks or sponges. 

Artificial Carbon Sequestration

• Artificial carbon sequestration refers to a number of processes whereby carbon emissions are captured at the point of production (e.g. Factory Chimneys) and then buried.
• Geological sequestration where the carbon dioxide is pumped into underground chambers such as old oil reservoirs, aquifers and coal seams that are unable to be mined.