CarbonSafe, Greensols and Newcomen Engines

1. CarbonSafe, Greensols and Newcomen Engines Talk by John Harrison B.Sc. B.Ec “For that which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it. Every one thinks chiefly of his own, hardly at all of the common interest; and only when he is himself concerned as an individual.” (Aristotle 350 BC)

2. A Planet in Crisis? • Energy • Water • waste and pollution • loss and degradation of topsoil • global warming. • In the next 50 years it is crunch time for: • Are we thinking about it? Do we have an answer?

3. Fresh Water • The amount of water in the world is finite. The number of us is growing quickly and our water use is growing more quickly. • A third of the world's population lives in water-stressed countries. By 2025, this is expected to rise to two-thirds. • The world's supply of fresh water is running out. Already one person in five has no access to safe drinking water.

4. Global Warming Rises in the levels of carbon dioxide and other gases (methane, water vapour) Are causing a rapid rise in temperature

5. The Carbon Cycle and Emissions Emissions from fossil fuels and cement production are the cause of the global warming problem Source: David Schimel and Lisa Dilling, National Centre for Atmospheric Research 2003

6. Energy Crisis Peak Oil Production (Campell 2004) Most models of oil reserves, production and consumption show peak oil around 2010 (Campbell 2005) and serious undersupply and rapidly escalating prices by 2025. It follows that there will be economic mayhem unless the cement and concrete industry acts now to change the energy base of their products.

7. Waste & Pollution Waste releases methane, can cause ill health in the area, leads to the contamination of land, underground water, streams and coastal waters (destroying our fisheries) and gives rise to various nuisances including increased traffic, noise, odours, smoke, dust, litter and pests. Most damaging is the release of dangerous molecules to the global commons There are various estimates, but we produce about 5-600 million tonnes of waste each year.

8. Ecological Footprint Our footprint is exceeding the capacity of the planet to support it. We are not longer sustainable as a species and must change our ways TO SURVIVE

9. We Must Learn from Nature (Biomimicry) • Nature is the most frugal economist of all. The waste from one plant or animal is the food or home for another. • By studying Nature we learn who we are, what we are and how we are to be.” (Wright, F.L. 1957:269) • In nature photosynthesis balances respiration. • We have nothing that balances our emissions in the techno-process • There is a strong need for similar efficiency and balance By learning from Nature we can all live together

10. Biomimicry • The term biomimicry was popularised by the book of the same name written by Janine Benyus • Biomimicry is a method of solving problems that uses natural processes and systems as a source of knowledge and inspiration. • It involves nature as model, measure and mentor. The theory behind biomimicry is that natural processes and systems have evolved over several billion years through a process of research and development commonly referred to as evolution. A reoccurring theme in natural systems is the cyclical flow of matter in such a way that there is no waste of matter or energy. Nature is very economical about all Processes. We must also be MUCH more economical

11. Economically Driven Sustainability The challenge is to harness human behaviours which underlay economic supply and demand phenomena by changing the technical paradigm in favour of making carbon dioxide and other wastes resources for new materials with lower take and waste impacts and more energy efficient performance. $ - ECONOMICS - $ Sustainable processes are more efficient and therefore more economic. Natural ecosystems can be 100% efficient. What is needed are new technologies that allow material and energy flows to more closely mimic natural ecosystems. Innovation will deliver these new technical paradigms. Sustainability will not happen by relying on people to do the right thing

12. Sustainability = Culture + Technology Increase in demand/price ratio for greater sustainability due to cultural drift. $ Supply Greater Value/for impact (Sustainability) and economic growth Equilibrium shift ECONOMICS New Technical Paradigms are required that deliver sustainability. Demand Increase in supply/price ratio for more sustainable products due to technical innovation. # A measure of the degree of sustainability of an industrial ecology is where the demand for more sustainable technologies is met by their supply.

13. Changing the Technology Paradigm We need materials that require less energy to make them, that last much longer and that contribute properties that reduce lifetime energies. The key is to change the technology paradigm • “By enabling us to make productive use of particular raw materials, technology determines what constitutes a physical resource1” • Pilzer, Paul Zane, Unlimited Wealth, The Theory and Practice of Economic Alchemy, Crown Publishers Inc. New York.1990

14. Incandescent Fluorescent Led Light <20 watts1700 lumens 25 watts1700 lumens 100 watts1700 lumens Examples of Economic Changes in Technical Paradigms that result in Greater Sustainability Light Globes Light Globes in the last 10 years have evolved from consuming around 100 watts per 1700 lumens to less that 20 watts per 1700 lumens. As light globes account for around 30% of household energy this is as considerable saving. Solar Panels Producing More than one Electron for each Photon of Light In all solar cells now in use - in everything from satellites to pocket calculators - each incoming photon contributes at most one energised electron to the electric current it generates. This barrier has now been broken by Victor Klimov of Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico USA .

15. C C Waste C C Waste C Examples of Economic Changes in Technical Paradigms that result in Greater Sustainability Eco-Cements Eco-cements set by absorbing CO2 out of the air and are suitable for the Pareto proportion (80%)of materials used for construction in the built environment. Coupled with capture of CO2 during manufacture the resulting sequestration is significant Robotics Construction in the future will be largely done by robots because it will be more economic to do so. Like a color printer different materials will be required for different parts of structures, and wastes such as plastics will provide many of the properties required for the cementitious composites of the future used. A non-reactive binder such as TecEco tec-cements can supply the right rheology, and like a printer, very little will be wasted.

16. Economics of Sustainability • Solving global warming will require new technologies and probably require less money than is being spent on the new space station. • Markets do not take a longer term view and governments should therefore step in and support innovation to develop new technologies that deliver sustainability. • Present inefficient technologies such as persist in power generation may be locked in as a result of network externalities and sunk costs.

17. A Low Energy Post – Carbon & Waste Age? Maybe then we can move confidently into a more sustainable future. The construction industry can be uniquely responsible for helping achieve this transition

18. Sequestration Abatement and Abatement and Sequestration • To solve sustainability problems our approach should be holistically balanced and involve • Everybody, every day • Be easy • Make money New technical paradigms are required + CarbonSafe = Sequestration and waste utilisation. Abatement = Efficiency and conversion to non fossil fuels TecEco’s Contribution

19. CO2 The TecEco Dream – A More Sustainable Built Environment CO2 OTHERWASTES CO2 FOR GEOLOGICAL SEQUESTRATION PERMANENT SEQUESTRATION & WASTE UTILISATION (Man made carbonate rock incorporating wastes as a building material) MINING MgO TECECO KILN MAGNESITE + OTHER INPUTS TECECO CONCRETES RECYCLED BUILDING MATERIALS We need materials that require less energy to make them, that last much longer and that contribute properties that reduce lifetime energies “There is a way to make our city streets as green as the Amazon rainforest”. Fred Pearce, New Scientist Magazine SUSTAINABLE CITIES

20. CO2 CO2 CO2 CO2 The TecEco CarbonSafe Geo-Photosynthethic Process The CarbonSafe Geo-Photosynthetic Process is TecEco’s evolving techno-process that delivers profitable outcomes whilst reversing underlying undesirable moleconomic flows from other less sustainable processes. Inputs: Atmospheric or smokestack CO2, brines,waste acid, other wastes Outputs: Potable water, gypsum, sodium bicarbonate, salts, building materials, bottled concentrated CO2 (for geo-sequestration and other uses). Solar or solar derived energy TecEcoKiln TecEco MgCO2 Cycle MgO MgCO3 Greensols Process 1.29 gm/l Mg Coal Fossil fuels Carbon or carbon compoundsMagnesium oxide CO2 Oil

21. The TecEco CarbonSafe Industrial Ecology InputsBrinesWaste AcidCO2 OutputsGypsum, Sodium bicarbonate, Salts, Building materials, Potable water We must design whole new technical paradigms that reverse many of our problem molecular flows

22. The CarbonSafe Geo-Photosynthetic Process 1.354 x 109 km3 Seawater containing 1.728 1017 tonne Mg or suitable brines from other sources Seawater Carbonation Process Waste Acid Gypsum + carbon waste (e.g. sewerage) = fertilizers Bicarbonate of Soda (NaHCO3) CO2 from power generation or industry Other salts Na+,K+, Ca2+,Cl- Gypsum (CaSO4) Sewerage compost CO2 as a biological or industrial input or if no other use geological sequestration Magnesite (MgCO3) Solar Process to Produce Magnesium Metal Magnesium Thermodynamic Cycle Simplified TecEco ReactionsTec-Kiln MgCO3 → MgO + CO2 - 118 kJ/moleReactor Process MgO + CO2 → MgCO3 + 118 kJ/mole (usually more complex hydrates) CO2 from power generation, industry or out of the air Magnesite (MgCO3) Magnesia (MgO) Hydroxide ReactorProcess Sequestration Table – Mg from Seawater CO2 Eco-CementTec-Cement Other Wastes

23. Why Magnesium Carbonates for Sequestration? • Because of the low molecular weight of magnesium, magnesium oxide which hydrates to magnesium hydroxide and then carbonates, is ideal for scrubbing CO2 out of the air and sequestering the gas into the built environment: • More CO2 is captured than in calcium systems as the calculations below show. • At 2.09% of the crust magnesium is the 8th most abundant element • Magnesium minerals are potential low cost. New kiln technology from TecEco will enable easy low cost simple non fossil fuel calcination of magnesium carbonate with CO2 capture for geological sequestration.

24. Reduction Global CO2 from CarbonSafe Process

25. The Greensols Process • The Greensols process involves the addition of waste acid and CO2 to brines containing magnesium including seawater. • The process produces: • Valuable salts • These salts will pay for the process • Fresh water • considerable profits could be generated • The problem of brines from reverse osmosis processes is avoided. • CO2 is sequestered as magnesium carbonate further used by TecEco in the CarbonSafe process. • 10 km by 10 km by 150 metres thick is all the magnesium carbonate required a year to more than meet our needs for sequestration.

26. Why Greensols is Important • For many years geologists have wondered how all the huntite, magnesite and dolomite found in nature was formed. • Greensols solves this geological enigma. Waste acid hydrolyses water which is therefore able to release the positively charged magnesium ions out of solution. • The protons associated with the anion in an acid attach to water and de polarise it thereby releasing Mg++ for precipitation as carbonate potentially resulting in massive sequestration. Contacts: John Harrison, TecEco Pty. Ltd. www.tececo.com Prof Chris Cuff, Greensols Pty. Ltd.

27. Thinking About Energy….. • Australia is a big country with huge transmission losses over long distances. • We should be choosing decentralised generation options over centralised ones if they can be demonstrated to be more efficient • Recent breakthroughs in solar technology will result in double or more efficiency • Abundant solar energy ins available e.g. Townsville with sun 330 days a year. • Unfortunately, sustainable energy other than from hydro so far does not suit large centralized power generation power plants and is therefore discredited by them further slowing their introduction. • Policies are therefore needed to encourage more sustainable generation of electricity such as a system of eco credits and debits as described in our last TecEco newsletter (No 59?). • Newcomen engines can potentially significantly increase the efficiency of existing fossil fuel powered electricity generation.

28. Newcomen Engines In contrast to Rankine cycle engines Newcomen engines capture the pressure change and heat released in the transition from a vapour back to a liquid. Newcomen engines can be retrofitted to existing fossil fuel and nuclear power stations and as a bonus produce distilled water. The Newcomen engine concept follows from the original steam engine invented around 1712 and with the application of modern technology heat exchangers, condensers pumps, turbine technology and a few other ‘smarts’ have the potential to significantly improve efficiency.

29. Low Grade Heat and Newcomen Engines • The world's resources of low grade heat, both natural and man-made far exceed our energy requirements. • Low grade heat resources are not used because they cannot efficiently be used to drive conventional turbine generators. • Newcomen engines utilise the large volume differences when water vapour collapses to form a liquid. And can utilise low grade heat.

30. A Simple Solar Powered Newcomen Engine Primary vapour is generated in a large evaporation chamber. When it collapses on cooling the rush of air and steam towards reduced pressure powers a turbine as in conventional fossil fuel powered power stations. To reduce visual clutter, the thermal feedback loop has been omitted.

31. Solar Powered Newcomen Engine (2) In the above version brine in the evaporation chamber is heated directly by solar energy and by heat liberated when secondary vapour condenses in the underlying condensation chamber. Fresh brine is continuously added at the cold end of the trough, with hot, concentrated brine being drawn off at the hot end. The heat stored in the concentrated brine is re-cycled, to pre-heat the turbine cooling water. At the cool end of the condensation chamber, the secondary vapour always ends up transferring its latent heat to the overlying brine, because the vapour pressure builds up until it reaches its dew point.

32. Fresh Water and Sequestration Using Newcomen Engines • Newcomen engine generators can produce fresh water as a by product. • Newcomen generator systems are designed to work using low grade heat, so by combining a Newcomen generator with a suitably designed carbon capture plant the capture process can be made more cost effective. Contacts: John Harrison, TecEco Pty. Ltd. www.tececo.com Dr Bill Courtney, Cheshire Innovation

33. TecEco Binder Systems SUSTAINABILITY PORTLAND POZZOLAN Hydration of the various components of Portland cement for strength. Reaction of alkali with pozzolans (e.g. lime with fly ash.) for sustainability, durability and strength. TECECO CEMENTS DURABILITY STRENGTH TecEco concretes are a system of blending reactive magnesia, Portland cement and usually a pozzolan with other materials and are a key factor for sustainability. REACTIVE MAGNESIA Hydration of magnesia => brucite for strength, workability, dimensional stability and durability. In Eco-cements carbonation of brucite => nesquehonite, lansfordite and an amorphous phase for sustainability.

34. TecEco Formulations • Tec-cements (5-15% MgO, 85-95% OPC) • contain more Portland cement than reactive magnesia. Reactive magnesia hydrates in the same rate order as Portland cement forming Brucite which uses up water reducing the voids:paste ratio, increasing density and possibly raising the short term pH. • Reactions with pozzolans are more affective. After all the Portlandite has been consumed Brucite controls the long term pH which is lower and due to it’s low solubility, mobility and reactivity results in greater durability. • Other benefits include improvements in density, strength and rheology, reduced permeability and shrinkage and the use of a wider range of aggregates many of which are potentially wastes without reaction problems. • Eco-cements (15-95% MgO, 85-5% OPC) • contain more reactive magnesia than in tec-cements. Brucite in porous materials carbonates forming stronger fibrous mineral carbonates and therefore presenting huge opportunities for waste utilisation and sequestration. • Enviro-cements (5-15% MgO, 85-95% OPC) • contain similar ratios of MgO and OPC to eco-cements but in non porous concretes brucite does not carbonate readily. • Higher proportions of magnesia are most suited to toxic and hazardous waste immobilisation and when durability is required. Strength is not developed quickly nor to the same extent.

35. TecEco Technologies Take Concrete into the Future • More rapid strength gain even with added pozzolans • More supplementary materials can be used reducing costs and take and waste impacts. • Easier to finish even with added pozzolans • The stickiness concretes with added fly ash is retarding use • Higher strength/binder ratio • Less cement can be used reducing costs and take and waste impacts • More durable concretes • Reducing costs and take and waste impacts. • Use of wastes • Utilizing carbon dioxide • Magnesia component can be made using non fossil fuel energy and CO2 captured during production. Tec -Cements Tec & Eco-Cements Eco-Cements Contact: John Harrison, TecEco Pty. Ltd. www.tececo.com

36. TecEco CO2 Capture Kiln Technology • Can run at low temperatures. • Can be powered by various non fossil fuels. • E.g. solar • Theoretically capable of producing much more reactive MgO • Even with ores of high Fe content. • Captures CO2 for bottling and sale to the oil industry (geological sequestration). • Grinds and calcines at the same time. • Runs 25% to 30% more efficiently as use waste heat from grinding • Will result in new markets for ultra reactive low lattice energy MgO (e.g. cement, paper and environment industries)

37. Sustainable Materials in the Built Environment - 2007 Technical Focus This Conference will focus on: • The impacts and connectivity of different parts of the supply chain. • Fabrication, performance, recycling and waste • New developments in materials and processes • Reviewing existing materials assessment tools • Future directions in regulation • Opportunities/barriers to introduction of sustainable materials and technologies in the building industry. • New materials and more sustainable built environments: the evidence? • Sustainable Materials in the BuiltEnvironment2007Innovation - Process – DesignAnnouncement and Call for Papers • 18th to 20th February 2007 • Melbourne, Australia • www.materialsaustralia.com.au/SMB2007 Joint Venture WebsitesASSMIC Website: www.aasmic.orgMaterials Australia Website: www.materialsaustralia.com.au