CO₂ capture and conversion (CCC)

CO₂ gas is an unavoidable by-product of many important and large-scale industrial processes, including energy generation, chemicals manufacture, and cement manufacture. Our society cannot operate efficiently without these CO₂-generating processes; especially as the world population increases and living standards move upwards in many parts of the world. We need ways to safely and economically capture CO₂ before it is released. Large-scale capture of CO₂ from waste gas streams is performed today using and recycling toxic chemicals at considerable energy cost. Captured CO₂ is buried underground (geo-sequestration), the integrated process being called carbon-capture-and sequestration (CCS). These methods have utility when suitable subterranean geological formations for safe, long-term burial of CO₂ exist close to the point of CO₂ generation, close enough to allow cost-effective piping or transportation of captured CO₂.  At Oakbio, we envision liberation of CO₂ capture from the geographical constraints and concerns around the long-term safety of geo-sequestration. Current processes for CCS spare GHG accumulation but do not recycle the captured carbon into useful products. Oakbio’s process captures waste CO₂, and adds value by converting the captured carbon into specialty chemicals and fuels. 

We call our new process carbon-capture-and-conversion (CCC). 

Oakbio’s CCC is a new approach to the issue of reducing GHG accumulation, with several independent drivers for commercial attractiveness:

(1) In some regulatory jurisdictions, capture of waste CO₂ earns carbon credits for the party otherwise releasing CO₂,

(2) Conversion of captured carbon to chemicals and fuels creates new commercial value otherwise lost,

(3) The entire Oakbio process is at the point of CO₂ generation. Equipment costs are spent on microbial CO₂ capture and conversion to chemical value. Funds are not invested in equipment or energy associated with CO₂ storage and piping or other transport to a distant site of geo-sequestration. We also avoid the energy costs of pumping CO₂ underground.