Producing ‘green coke’

CarbonScape co-director Nick Gerritsen took home a prize of €100 000 (NZ$156 600).This will be used to help get the company into full production on ‘green coke’ to fulfill its first contract with a leading New Zealand steel manufacturer. Their first contract is to supply 9000 tonnes of green coke in 2013 – a demand that will require the expansion of the company’s Blenheim plant.

CO₂-reducing microwave technology

The small start-up company was selected for the final three out of more than 500 other contestants from around the world. It was awarded the runner-up prize for its patented CO₂-reducing, continuous-flow microwave technology after presenting its business case at a CGI dinner attended by statespeople, scientists, philanthropists and business leaders in New York. The microwave technology transforms waste biomass, such as timber site residue, into high-grade materials that can replace fossil carbon. The process decreases emissions from organic waste decomposition and offers companies products made from local materials. The company also converts energy generated by its processes into electricity, further lowering its net carbon impact.

CarbonScape’s low-cost, carbon-neutral products include green coke, activated carbon, biochar and graphite. Activated carbon is used as a filter in several applications including water treatment and flue-gas scrubbing.

Replacing fossil fuels

In their winning entry, Mr Gerritsen wrote that renewable green coke could replace fossil fuels such as coal in the steel industry and significantly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

“We believe that unsustainable consumption of fossil carbon and the emission of CO₂ around the world is causing huge and irreparable environmental damage. We are not prepared to wait for governments to take action against [such practices and develop technologies] that could transform and store carbon in an environment-friendly form. Instead, we are stepping up as leaders in the formation of a sustainable, low-carbon economy.

Reducing carbon emissions

“When CarbonScape products reach the global market, they will enable industries and communities to increase their sustainability effortlessly. We can change the world by allowing people and businesses to significantly reduce carbon emissions and other environmental pollutants, irrespective of their beliefs about climate change and global resource depletion.

CarbonScape’s products are economically viable in today’s market. This means that our services require no subsidies, government policies or regulations in order to generate a profit and reduce emissions at the same time. We create carbon-efficient renewable materials that can be dropped into existing infrastructures. We can enable industries and communities around the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental pollutants in the near term without waiting for dramatic behavioural adaptations.”

In a text from New York, Mr Gerritsen said the status from being a finalist in the Green Challenge had opened up “considerable networks”, so it was a “phenomenal result”.

First prize of €500 000 was won by California-based Mango Materials, which uses bacteria to turn methane into biopolymer granules. The granules are used to make biodegradable, affordable plastic for use in products such as toys, packaging and agricultural and construction materials.

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