{"id":12472,"date":"2018-02-26T15:25:57","date_gmt":"2018-02-26T14:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/?p=12472"},"modified":"2024-03-12T17:55:15","modified_gmt":"2024-03-12T16:55:15","slug":"awesome-extractors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/industries\/refrigeration-ventilation\/awesome-extractors_12472\/","title":{"rendered":"Awesome extrac\u00adtors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Waste incin\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion is not exactly some\u00adthing that makes people think of improved air quality. But in the commu\u00adnity of Hinwil in the Swiss canton of Zurich, the two aspects are being combined in a project that\u2019s unique world\u00adwide. On the ground, a local waste manage\u00adment authority converts trash to slag by burning; above, Clime\u00adworks turns carbon dioxide into plant food. It\u2019s an effi\u00adcient cycle as the waste incin\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion provides energy for the CO2<\/sub> extrac\u00adtors on the roof. They bring the green\u00adhouse gas via a pipeline to a green\u00adhouse 400 meters away, where a nursery uses it to boost the growth of cucum\u00adbers and toma\u00adtoes. The process turns 900 tons of CO2<\/sub> from a climate nemesis into a growth booster.<\/p>\n

From dream to climate target<\/h2>\n
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The 18 extrac\u00adtors in the Hinwil plant supply the neigh\u00adboring green\u00adhouse with 900 tons of concen\u00adtrated carbon dioxide per year. (Photo | Clime\u00adworks \/ Julia Dunlop)<\/p><\/div>\n

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The nursery oper\u00adating the green\u00adhouse was able to increase its harvest by 20 percent. (Photo | Clime\u00adworks \/ Julia Dunlop)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The tech\u00adnology is called direct air capture (DAC) and the plant was devel\u00adoped by Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher. The two engi\u00adneers became acquainted early in the millen\u00adnium during their studies at the Swiss Federal Insti\u00adtute of Tech\u00adnology in Zurich. \u201cWe decided on the first day to found a company together,\u201d says Wurzbacher. \u201cThat was our big dream.\u201d In 2007 they began research on tech\u00adnolo\u00adgies for extracting carbon dioxide from the air. Just two years later, they founded Clime\u00adworks.<\/p>\n

The company has set itself some ambi\u00adtious goals: \u201cTech\u00adnolo\u00adgies for removing CO2<\/sub> from the air are indis\u00adpens\u00adable for reaching the two-degree target,\u201d says Valentin Gutknecht, Marketing Manager at Clime\u00adworks. The company would like to see one percent of world\u00adwide CO2<\/sub> emis\u00adsions being filtered out of the air by 2025. Doing that would take 250,000 plants like the one in Hinwil. It consists of 18 extractor units that are controlled and moni\u00adtored together. The advan\u00adtage of its modular design: It needs little space, is easily scal\u00adable, and can there\u00adfore be used anywhere.<\/p>\n

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Useful CO2<\/sub><\/h2>\n

The carbon dioxide filtered out of the air by the direct air capture plant can be used for many things, such as renew\u00adable fuel, fertil\u00adizer and carbon\u00ada\u00adtion in bever\u00adages.<\/p>\n

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The basic prin\u00adciple of the CO2<\/sub> extractor is actu\u00adally quite simple. A fan draws in air through a filter that captures the CO\u2082. When the filter is satu\u00adrated, the carbon dioxide is sepa\u00adrated at 100 degrees Celsius. Of course choosing the right process and compo\u00adnents was some\u00adwhat more compli\u00adcated. \u201cEnergy effi\u00adciency was a very impor\u00adtant aspect for us; we had an eye on it from the begin\u00adning,\u201d says Wurzbacher. That was a reason for Clime\u00adworks to choose large axial fans from ebm-papst. They have to trans\u00adport very high air flow with low pres\u00adsure losses and also be very quiet. \u201cWe bene\u00adfited from being able to set up and measure the entire system at ebm-papst in Mulfingen. That helped us to maxi\u00admize the effi\u00adciency.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRemoving CO2<\/sub> from the air is indis\u00adpens\u00adable for reaching the two-degree target.\u201d Valentin Gutknecht, Marketing Manager at Clime\u00adworks<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Clime\u00adworks is also working on the effi\u00adcient use of the carbon dioxide. Growing vegeta\u00adbles as in the initial project in Hinwil is only one of several possi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adties. The CO2<\/sub> harvested in the DAC plant can also be used for the produc\u00adtion of carbon\u00adated bever\u00adages or climate-neutral fuels and mate\u00adrials. The main thing is that it disap\u00adpears from the atmos\u00adphere.<\/p>\n