Decarbonizing Emissions from Carbon Black Production via Electrochemical Capture and Conversion of CO2 into Advanced Carbon Nanostructured Additives

The International Energy Agency estimates that the chemicals sector alone emits 1.5 GT CO2 each year, representing 18% of total carbon emissions. Since the chemicals sector is directly responsible for nearly every other portion of the economy and life as we know it today, it is imperative that we make every possible effort to decarbonize these operations while still producing the same critical chemicals we rely on for everything from water purification to clothing manufacturing. Whereas the chemicals sector is very broad with hundreds of products included under the general umbrella of “chemicals,” carbon black is a top 50 industrial chemical manufactured worldwide, based on annual tonnage. Carbon black is a critical chemical utilized in many consumer products, ranging from elastomers (tires, O-rings, etc.) to packaging and inks. In fact, 18 million metric tons of carbon black are produced globally each year, with a growing demand (CAGR 4.82%) due to the increasing use of the material in lithium-ion batteries for transportation electrification. For each ton of carbon black produced, 2.5-3 tons CO2 are emitted, leading to 65 million metric tons CO2 each year solely from carbon black production, which represents 4.3% of the global chemicals sectors emissions. SkyNano proposes to develop a novel electrochemical reactive CO2 capture and conversion reactor tailored to carbon black production emissions that is based on our previous investigations of electrochemical CO2 capture and conversion to solid carbon products. For this project, we propose to utilize our core competencies and expertise in the electrochemical capture and conversion of CO2 to produce solid carbon nanostructures that, in Phase II of the project, will be coupled with real life emissions from carbon black production to produce advanced carbon nanostructures that can be coupled right back into carbon black products to improve the performance of end-use applications. Our approach represents an ideal scenario for reactive capture, whereby we will decarbonize the chemical emissions associated with carbon black production (proof of concept demonstrated in Phase I) on site, then couple the CO2-derived products (advanced carbon nanostructures) into the products manufactured at the emissions source (carbon black). It’s been well documented throughout literature that blended carbon additive products comprised of both carbon nanotubes and carbon black outperform each constituent carbon structure on its own. This approach allows us to put forth a product that is superior in both performance and sustainability than the original emissions-intensive manufactured product (carbon black) and do so while reducing the complexity and cost associated with CO2 transportation and carbon nanostructure transportation.