Denmark has begun storage of CO2 in the subsoil of the North Sea, according to INEOS, the lead partner in Project Greensand, described as the world’s first cross-border carbon capture and storage scheme (CCS).

According to a 10 September announcement, the 23 partners behind the project have now submitted the final report from the pilot project, which has aimed to develop, test and demonstrate safe and efficient storage of CO2 in the North Sea subsurface.

The group said the thorough technical verification confirms that the stored CO2 remains safely and permanently in the closed Nini West reservoir 1,800 metres below the North Sea seabed, as expected. This part of the work was carried out by independent provider of risk, verification and standardization services, DNV.

“We now have documentation that we have a well-functioning storage for CO2 in the North Sea subsoil, where large amounts of CO2 that would otherwise have been emitted into the atmosphere can be safely and permanently stored. We can see that the stored CO2 behaves as expected in the reservoir 1,800 metres below the seabed. That confidence gives us a solid foundation to take the next steps that will be crucial for CCS in Denmark”, said Mads Gade, Country Manager at INEOS Denmark and Commercial Director at INEOS Energy, the leading partner behind Project Greensand.

“Outstanding work” from all 23 partners
Project Greensand demonstrated that captured CO2 can be transported across borders and stored offshore to mitigate climate change. This was marked by the parties behind the consortium at the event First Carbon Storage on 8 March 2023 in Esbjerg, where Denmark’s King Frederik gave the signal to begin the CO2-storage operation,

It was also marked with a video speech by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and speech by Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, Lars Aagaard.

“We are very proud that we are the first in the world to succeed in developing, testing and demonstrating a well-functioning value chain for safe and efficient capture, transport and storage of CO2 across national borders with the aim of mitigating climate change. This is an important step on the way to meeting Denmark’s and the EU’s climate ambitions, and each of the 23 partners has done an outstanding job. I am impressed by how the task has been solved across many professional groups, which has made this phase of Project Greensand come together”, says Mads Gade.

The intensive work in the EUDP-supported project has also meant that a large group of Danish and international companies have gained valuable experience in the work with capture, transport and storage of CO2, and now have better conditions to play a role in a future CCS market in Europe.

Standing on the shoulders of an earlier project in Greensand
With a completed and verified pilot phase, the way has been paved for the development of CCS in Denmark. The lead partner in Project Greensand, INEOS, has already applied for approval on behalf of licence partners Wintershall Dea (now Harbour Energy) and Nordsøfonden for Denmark’s first large-scale CO2 storage facility, and is now working hard to start CO2 storage in the North Sea by the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026. The ambition is that up to 400,000 tonnes of CO2 will be stored per year, while the plan is to store up to 8 million tonnes of CO2 per year in the area under the North Sea’s seabed from 2030.

At the same time, work is also underway to investigate whether it is possible and safe to store CO2 underground on land in Denmark, and earlier this year, the Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities awarded INEOS, Wintershall Dea (Harbour Energy) and Nordsøfonden an exploration licence for an area of the Danish subsurface in Jutland in the Gassum reservoir. The experience from Greensand will be included in the work to demonstrate safe storage also on land.

“We emphasised that Denmark has moved to the forefront of CCS in the world when we stored the first CO2 in the North Sea. Now we are in the process of investigating how to take the next step, and here we stand on the shoulders of the invaluable experience from Project Greensand’s pilot. We are keen to continue this momentum with an ambition that Greensand will be the first CO2 storage facility in operation in the EU, and we are now awaiting the Danish authorities’ approval of a permanent storage. This is an important step, because if Denmark takes just 5% of a future CCS market in Europe, it could mean up to 9,000 jobs, with an economic potential of DKK 50 billion. At the same time, we can support the EU’s objectives, because we have all the prerequisites to create a new industry that is part of the solution to the challenges of the climate”.

Inflow of stormwater and infiltration of groundwater into wastewater systems is a constant operational challenge for managers. Now, Håbo municipality in Sweden is tackling the challenge head-on with an innovative digital approach, says Adam Wood, chief product officer at water analytics company Infotiles.

Water utility managers in Håbo, a small municipality north-west of the Swedish capital, Stockholm, began conversations with InfoTiles in 2023, when they suspected infiltration of wastewater and inflow of groundwater into wastewater networks (I&I) was adding massive volumes requiring transport and treatment.

Managers wanted to investigate I&I further and needed tangible evidence to demonstrate the need for investment but were facing budgetary and operational constraints. Using control system data together with weather data and analysis of wastewater networks using in situ sensors, the collaboration sought to determine when and where I&I was occurring and decide on the appropriate response.

Gathering evidence
Inflow is stormwater that flows into wastewater pipes through faults such as holes, cracks, joint failures, and broken connections. Infiltration occurs when groundwater enters the wastewater network through faults in pipes, compounding the flow.

Magne Eide, chief operating officer at Infotiles, said, “InfoTiles set out to show Håbo municipality what the cost of not maintaining its wastewater network to prevent I&I would be, versus investing money now. Water managers wanted to understand what the maintenance opportunities were, so they could create a wider business case to be put forward for funding during the 2025 budget process.”

Servicing a population of around 18,700, Håbo’s water utility treats about 4 million m3 of wastewater per year. InfoTiles discovered that 18% of that water is incurred through I&I, leading to SEK13 million (roughly €1.3 million) of extra operating costs annually equivalent to almost SEK700 per inhabitant (roughly €61).

Energy use is a significant part of the additional treatment and transportation costs involved in processing I&I, which means reducing energy consumption represents a potential saving on operational expenditure when I&I is remedied. Extra energy consumption also represents a higher carbon footprint, so accurately identifying and preventing I&I can help utilities meet carbon commitments, including net zero targets.

Compounded flow
For many utilities and municipalities, I&I can account for an average of 20-50% of the annual flow in sewers, but during snow melt and wet autumns, this figure is much higher.

It is widely acknowledged that most I&I is caused by ageing infrastructure that requires maintenance or replacement, but some is also caused by erroneous connections such as building drainage and rooftops connected to the wrong pipes. When this water penetrates the wastewater network, it can overload the system, which is a particular risk during periods of heavy rain or storm events.

In the worst cases, it can lead to the release of untreated wastewater into the environment and pollution of rivers and seas. It also increases the risk of cross-contamination of drinking water, where polluted water from the environment enters through faults in clean water pipes.

Increases in the frequency and intensity of rainfall as a result of a changing climate is exacerbating the problem, making wastewater networks ever more vulnerable to failure and putting the environment at greater risk. If left untreated, pipeline integrity will only deteriorate over time, increasing the volume of ingress water to be treated.

For Håbo municipality, the overall goal of the collaboration with InfoTiles is to gain a better understanding of the causes of inflow and infiltration into sewerage networks and to understand the options for remediation and impact reduction. The municipality hopes it will help policymakers gain a deeper understanding of decision-making around I&I and show how collaboration and digital solutions can be used as a catalyst for positive change.

Accurate pin-pointing
Inflow and infiltration compounds wastewater operating costs as excess water must be pumped, treated and discharged.

The InfoTiles platform uses SCADA control system data together with data from the Swedish Meteorological Institute to analyse historical rainfall and the dry and wet weather behaviour of wastewater networks. For example, how and when water hits the network and how it affects pump heights.

Sensor devices placed at critical points in the network can collect data such as precipitation, problematic thresholds of rain volume, or seasonally varied sensitivities. That feeds into a central dashboard and these detailed measurements can then be analysed by water managers.

By using information from pump stations in real-time, the model calculates the total and excessive volume transported, allowing managers to see not only weather-related trends but also the resulting costs both in terms of treatment and power expenditure.

Once problem areas have been identified, the search area can be narrowed down using compact internet-of-things (IoT) devices within the same platform. Some pump stations have multiple inputs or long upstream pipeline networks. By selectively measuring different branches, it is possible to identify exactly where the water inflows and infiltrates or exclude areas that are not problematic.

Positive proof
Håbo operates 38 pumping stations, in a network where several smaller pumping stations feed larger stations before the wastewater is ultimately transported to treatment.

InfoTiles and Håbo municipality determined that the pumps closest to the treatment stations were receiving the largest net volume of water, meaning that the largest influx was occurring in the parts of the network directly relating to the largest pumps.

With this information, managers from Håbo went searching for damage in the identified areas and were able to quickly confirm the findings of the analysis. Significant breaches of the pipe were found upon visual inspection. In one location, drained surface water from nearby farmlands was penetrating wastewater pipes at high pressure, causing large and continuous volumes of I&I.

Sara Frid, water and wastewater strategist, Håbo Municipality, said, “The new insight into ingress water, such as volumes, likely sources, and the resulting costs really sparked an interest among our operators to go on the hunt for it.

“Within the first couple of weeks, we had found damages to our wastewater pipelines that we could repair to reduce volumes and save treatment costs.”

Now, water managers can not only use data to identify the areas with the highest need of maintenance and repairs but also see the results of their work in reduced volumes of inflow and infiltration.

Continually reducing the total volumes of I&I remains a high focus for Håbo municipality.

With the InfoTiles solution, they have been able to prove that investments in wastewater maintenance are not only an issue of environmental risk and cost, but in fact, the reduction in volumes will ultimately lead to reduced treatment costs in the long term.

Liverpool-based DefProc Engineering has secured a place in this year’s Hydrogen Innovation Challenge, organized by climate tech hub Sustainable Ventures.

Developed for Northern Gas Networks, the sensor monitors low-pressure gas supply at NGN’s Low Thornley site near Gateshead; successful testing and trials will see it rolled out to consumers across Yorkshire, the North East and Cumbria, says DefProc.

The firm will now receive one-to-one support for the rest of the year and the opportunity to present the Smart Gas Pressure Sensor at an innovation showcase in front of potential partners and regional end users.

The aim is that the Hydrogen Innovation Challenge will connect them to a wider network of gas distributors looking to decarbonise their networks by innovative means.

Jen Fenner, managing director and co-founder of DefProc Engineering, said: “The Hydrogen Innovation Challenge is an incredible opportunity to showcase our capabilities as end-to-end design engineers and a market-leading innovation partner.

“We’ve worked on some revolutionary projects in recent years and the support from the Hydrogen Innovation Challenge will allow us to present these to a wider network of potential clients and make a tangible difference to the future of sustainability.”

In addition to the Smart Gas Pressure Sensor, which works with natural gas, blended hydrogen supply or 100% hydrogen, DefProc Engineering has designed and delivered what it describes as the UK’s first low-cost domestic hydrogen sensor, H2Go for the EIC, Northern Gas Networks and Wales and West Utilities.

Similar to the look and operation of a traditional smoke alarm, H2Go will be the basis for manufactured domestic hydrogen sensors in the future.

Lee-Ann Perkins, Sustainable Ventures hydrogen program manager, added: “Through the Hydrogen Innovation Challenge, we’re empowering startups to lead the charge in the UK’s energy transition, providing the tools and partnerships to bring innovations to market.”

Earlier this year, DefProc Engineering was also one of five pioneering UK businesses chosen for a new Hydrogen Sensor Accelerator Programme with Digital Catapult, a first-of-its-kind eight-week programme to deliver the UK strategy for hydrogen technology.”

The Scottish Government announced a new Green Industrial Strategy on 11 September.

It was unveiled by Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and colleagues during a visit to Flowcopter, a company based near Edinburgh which is developing drones that can be used in the offshore wind sector.

She said: “This Green Industrial Strategy spells out where we believe the greatest opportunities lie, and where we will focus our attention and resources.

“It provides certainty for businesses – both at home and abroad – by demonstrating where and how we will work to reduce barriers to investment and, where appropriate, share risk and reward.”

The document pinpoints five priority areas: maximising Scotland’s wind economy, growing the hydrogen sector, developing the carbon capture, utilisation and storage sector, supporting green economy professional and financial services, and attracting clean energy intensive industries such as datacentres.

Other specific actions will include: hosting a Global Offshore Wind Investment Forum next Spring, working with the sector to develop hubs of hydrogen production and demand and working with public and private partners to drive investment in key projects.

Responding, Claire Mack, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, said:

“Renewable energy is Scotland’s greatest economic opportunity and the Green Industrial Strategy, which has been widely welcomed by industry, will provide a real boost for those committed to delivering on our net-zero ambitions.

“We have worked closely with the Scottish Government on this strategy and are pleased that it has promised to drive forward the full potential for public and private investment in essential infrastructure, with plans to secure the manufacturing facilities Scotland needs to maintain its position as a world leader in clean power.

“We have been clear that the Scottish Government must show a real commitment to supporting companies across the supply chain and we welcome the energy supply chain package of support announced today.

“Scottish Renewables has repeatedly highlighted the need for a robust planning and consenting system alongside a commitment to invest in green skills which has been reflected in the strategy.

“The Scottish Government must now outline how the Green Industrial strategy will strategically align with the anticipated Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan to fully realise the vast opportunities of renewable energy across all sectors including offshore wind, low carbon heat and green hydrogen.

“The renewable energy industry first called for a Green Industrial Strategy more than two years ago and it is delivery that counts. The Scottish Government must hold itself accountable for what has been announced today and demonstrate confidence that it can deliver Scotland’s clean power future.”

Trials of a cutting-edge fats, oils and grease (FOG) Recovery Hub at Yorkshire Water’s wastewater treatment works in Hull are helping the utility improve environmental performance while lowering costs, says Chris Clemes, chief executive of engineering technology company EcoClarity.

Sewer blockages are a major concern in the UK, with an estimated 200,000 occurring annually, and FOG – fat, oil and grease – cited as the cause in around 75% of cases.

A build-up of FOG hinders the smooth operation of sewer systems and wastewater treatment works (WwTW), shortens the lifespan of critical assets and increases maintenance costs. This burden ultimately falls on water companies.

“As a water company, we suffer from thousands of preventable blockages each year from fats going down sewers. FOG blockages, or fatbergs impair the performance of wastewater assets which can cause sewer overflows, that can impact the environment,” explains Yorkshire Water’s waste services manager James Gudgeon.

“Water companies can spend a significant amount of money on staff and equipment costs to remove FOG from our sewers and send it to landfill – which also has an environmental impact. Additionally, network failures caused by FOG blockages carry the risk of costly environmental performance fines.”

As part of Yorkshire Water’s drive to increase efficiency within its operations, the water utility works alongside technology consultancy Isle to identify the latest technologies and innovations in clean and wastewater.

“In 2021, Isle suggested working with EcoClarity on our wastewater site, at a time we were looking to grow our imported waste business. The EcoClarity proposition gives us the ability to import different types of waste that we would not normally be able to treat.”

Yorkshire Water is the first UK water utility to install EcoClarity’s patented technology – located at its Hull wastewater treatment site. The modular, containerised EcoClarity system was introduced in February 2024 and will be used to treat FOG wastewater generated onsite during cleaning and maintenance procedures, as well as loads from waste management companies.

The process separates problematic FOG from wastewater and recovers a valuable energy resource for biodiesel production, while returning safe water to the environment. The operational model involves installing a network of FOG Recovery Hubs at wastewater treatment works and other sites suitable for liquid waste tankers to offload grease trap waste.

“We’re turning FOG waste into a valuable resource,” says Chris Febrey, EcoClarity’s operations manager. “By accurately measuring and verifying the composition of waste, we can verify reductions in greenhouse gas emissions for businesses and promote a circular economy.

“Our collaboration with Yorkshire Water highlights the importance of proper FOG management.”

The installation has a myriad of benefits for Yorkshire Water. Alongside the environmental and financial rewards of safely removing the FOG from the environment.

“Working in partnership is a significant commitment, but it was an easy decision once we looked at the holistic benefits of EcoClarity’s hubs,” says Gudgeon. “It brings us another avenue of engagement with the food industry and the FSEs [food service establishments] out there; it reduces the amount FOG going into sewers at source – preventing sewer blockages and protecting the environment, ultimately resulting in protecting our people not having to do high risk jobs.

“It also enables us to bring in new waste streams and new revenue streams into Yorkshire Water and ultimately that money is reinvested into the business and goes towards helping keep customer bills low – it is a true circular economy in action,” he adds.

FOG is a common byproduct of commercial kitchens and food processing facilities, but its disposal has long posed a challenge to the water sector. Currently, too much FOG enters the sewers and drains, causing blockages, which significantly impact the public, the environment, and are costly for water companies to clear.

The alternative is landfill disposal, which fails to capitalise on the value of FOG as a potential renewable fuel source. The patented EcoClarity system efficiently separates fat, oils and grease from wastewater, resulting in a 98% concentration of oil suitable for biodiesel production, which could ultimately be used to power the trucks transporting the FOG.

As EcoClarity sites are registered with Argent Energy’s Carbon Certification Scheme, the company can track the volume of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions saved by the biodiesel produced from its FOG feedstock. This allows third-party companies, disposing of their waste in this way, to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability with transparency.

Long travel distances, slow offloading times, limited data on waste content, and a lack of transparency in pricing have historically led to frustration and a drain on profits for liquid waste operators. Thanks to EcoClarity’s highly efficient disposal opportunities, first at Argent Energy’s refinery in Stanlow, Cheshire, and now at Hull wastewater treatment works, travel distances for hauliers are minimised, along with fuel consumption.

EcoClarity’s FOG Recovery Hubs analyse the precise mass and FOG content of every load that comes in. As the FOG-rich waste goes through a mass meter, it is quantified and the data shared with the client – supporting their green credentials.

This also translates to quicker turnarounds for tankers, lower operating costs, and more time spent serving customers. Boasting up to a 87% reduction in greenhouse gases, biodiesel contributes to climate change mitigation and could be used to power tankers transporting wastewater – creating a tight circular economy of value.

“We are working with EcoClarity towards the potential nirvana of being able to harvest the FOG from our sewer network and turn it into biodiesel that fuels our vans. That’s the end goal,” added Gudgeon.

Further EcoClarity hubs are being planned by Yorkshire Water, with Knostrop wastewater treatment works in Leeds next on the list. Sites belonging to United Utilities and Southern Water, as well as two large entertainment venues in London and Cornwall, are also in the pipeline.

By James Kennedy, a technology analyst at market intelligence firm IDTechEx.

The advanced recycling market for plastics predominantly focuses on technologies like pyrolysis and depolymerization (thermal, chemical, and enzymatic). To a lesser extent, methods such as gasification and hydrothermal liquefaction are also being explored. However, these technologies face increasing scrutiny and restrictions in some regions due to their environmental impact. However, while mechanical recycling is the preferred recycling method due to its cost-effectiveness and efficiency, it still falls short in applications requiring high purity and mechanical properties. To address these challenges posed by both chemical recycling technologies and mechanical recycling, dissolution technologies (sometimes referred to as solvent extraction) offer a promising solution.

Dissolution explained
Dissolution involves separating polymer waste using a solvent. The solvent selectively dissolves the polymer, separating it from contaminants and other non-target materials. Once dissolved, the solution is purified, and the solvent is removed, leaving behind a nearly pure plastic that can be processed back into granules for reuse in manufacturing.

This method can deal with contaminated or mixed plastic waste that is challenging to recycle through mechanical means while not breaking the polymers into their constituent molecules or feedstock. The need to carefully separate different polymer types is reduced, as plastic types can be selectively dissolved and separated out when using the correct solvent mixture. The processes are designed with solvents and separation methods for specific plastic types such as polypropylene, polystyrene, and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene.

PureCycle Technologies is a notable player in the field of plastic dissolution. The company utilizes a proprietary technology developed by Procter & Gamble to recycle polypropylene. Its process involves using a solvent (primarily n-butane) to purify waste polypropylene into a form that is comparable in quality to virgin plastic. PureCycle states that its recycled PP can be used in applications where mechanical recycling methods, such as food-grade packaging, would not suffice. PureCycle is currently the leading commercial-scale provider in this space.

The key advantage of dissolution is the higher theoretical overall yield that it can provide compared to chemical recycling technologies, as the product re-enters the plastic supply chain as a ready-for-use resin rather than simply a polymer building block or a hydrocarbon.

As a relatively nascent industry, there is continuing R&D on its processes. One standout is Solvent-Targeted Recovery and Precipitation (STRAP), which is a new technology framework that researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed. The technology can separate the components of multilayer plastic films and remove contaminants. Multilayer films are a key challenge in plastic waste management, and as a result, the commercialization of this technology has strong potential. Additionally, the developers of STRAP claim the process has many advantages over competitors, including operation at atmospheric pressure and lower temperatures. At present, a STRAP pilot plant is being built at Michigan Tech University to prove the technology. The promise of a highly adaptable dissolution system for this type of hard-to-recycle plastic waste would be the most sought-after solution. The technical challenges of scaling STRAP will likely mean several years before this is at a commercial scale.

The general process for the dissolution of plastic waste (source: IDTechX). Click image to enlarge.

Dissolution drawbacks
While dissolution technology holds promise, it is not without its challenges and criticisms. For example, there are questions about long-term circularity as the polymer is likely to degrade over successive cycling. Another concern with the dissolution process is the environmental impact of the solvents used. These chemicals must be managed carefully to avoid releasing harmful substances into the environment. The energy required to heat the solvents and subsequently remove them from the dissolved plastic also adds to the carbon footprint of the process.

The economic viability of dissolution technology also remains uncertain. The cost of the solvents, energy consumption, and the need for sophisticated infrastructure will likely make recycled polymers from dissolution plants more expensive than with mechanical recycling methods. The size of this green premium versus other recycling technologies will determine whether dissolution plants can be economically viable.
Furthermore, the scale required to make a significant impact on plastic waste through dissolution is immense. Building the necessary infrastructure to process large volumes of plastic waste through dissolution is a massive undertaking that will require substantial capital investment and time.

The success of dissolution technologies like PureCycle’s depends on market demand for recycled plastics. While there is growing interest in sustainable materials, competition from cheaper, virgin plastics can limit the market potential for recycled products. Future efforts will focus on developing processes for a wider range of polymer types. Companies such as APK, Worn Again, and Polystyvert are working with polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polystyrene (PS), respectively. The Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) is developing a process called Mobius for recycling acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), though it is not yet commercialized.

Dissolution presents a promising technology for addressing the demand for low-carbon, versatile plastic waste solutions. However, several hurdles remain, including technological refinement, commercial scaling, and economic challenges. Stakeholders must carefully evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of dissolution within the broader context of global waste management strategies. Navigating economic challenges will be key, as price will be the determinant factor in success as companies adopting recycled polymers evaluate how much of a green premium they can afford. Continued research, investment, and regulatory support will be essential to refine the process and assess its long-term viability as part of a comprehensive effort to mitigate the impact of plastic waste on the environment.

Puraffinity, a start-up developing technologies which remove PFAS from water, has announced plans to scale, following the appointment of Vincent Caillaud as its new CEO and securing £6.73 million in new investment from BGF.

Mr Caillaud brings exceptional industry experience, with more than 20 years working in the water sector. He was previously CEO of Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions, a global water technology business unit within the world’s largest water, energy and waste management company, Veolia.

BGF’s investment completes Puraffinity’s £16.93 million Series A funding round, following existing funding from Octopus Ventures, HG Ventures, Kindred Capital, and Verve Ventures, as well as materials science sector specialist fund Universal Materials Incubator Co (UMI).

The funding is intended to allow Puraffinity to scale up production of its patented, PFAS-capturing material, “Puratech ®”, “to meet exceptionally strong and growing demand across multiple sectors”. It will also support the company’s work developing fresh commercial applications that use Puraffinity’s patented materials.

Founded in 2015 by Henrik Hagemann & Gabi Santosa and spun out of Imperial College London, Puraffinity provides a differentiated solution to the world’s ever-growing PFAS problem as its technology consistently and reliably removes PFAS from water, in a much more cost-effective manner compared with conventional treatments.

Puraffinity said its precision technologies place it at the forefront of the fight against PFAS, which have been linked to multiple health issues, including cancer. Developed in the 1940s, PFAS’ molecular make-up makes them resistant to water, grease and oil, meaning they have multiple industrial uses. However, these same qualities make them hard to destroy, hence the name “forever chemicals”, and according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, they have entered water supplies worldwide, with an estimated 97 percent of people having PFAS in their bodies.

International regulators are examining bans or limits on the amount of PFAS drinking water can contain in an attempt to tackle the estimated €16 trillion annual cost of environmental remediation and healthcare costs.

Puratech, described as a breakthrough adsorbent media that Puraffinity has developed, can be applied across use cases as it features a customisable plug-in solution that fits into any existing water treatment system. Puratech can also be tailored to capture specific PFAS compounds, ensuring that global users can meet the regulatory standards of different markets.

The high-performing material also adopts a green chemistry technology which, according to Systemiq 2022, results in 60 percent less carbon emissions in its manufacturing than existing petroleum-based products.

“Attracting such a respected water industry figure as Vincent, alongside investment from BGF underlines not only the progress Puraffinity has already made, but the incredible potential of the business, said Henrik Hagemann, founder and chief product & innovation officer at Puraffinity, “The new management structure will allow me to focus on accelerating our existing technologies and developing new product roadmaps, confident that Puraffinity’s business development is assured with Vincent as CEO.”

Vincent Caillaud, CEO of Puraffinity, said: “At Puraffinity, we are delighted to join BGF’s growing network of climate tech start-ups as the company continues on its mission of providing PFAS-safe water to the world. With BGF’s expertise in helping start-ups in breakthrough technologies achieve transformational growth, we look forward to meaningfully expanding our commercial capability and extending the global reach of our patented PFAS-removal solutions.”

“Puraffinity is well-positioned to fulfil its vision of bringing PFAS-safe water to one billion people by 2030,” said Luke Rajah, investor at BGF. “BGF is thrilled to work with Puraffinity as it enters a new phase of rapid, global growth, taking a meaningful step towards enhancing water safety. BGF has developed a strong reputation for identifying and providing early-stage support for companies creating technologies which not only have huge potential but offer huge societal benefits.”

Biocarbon might be emerging as an important ingredient in efforts to decarbonize metallurgical production. Envirotec spoke to Sam Beardshaw of UK firm Invica Industries about how it fits into the menu of technologies being primed for a role.

The pressure is on to decarbonize the metals industry, which alone contributes 7% of global CO2 emissions (5% in the EU). Global Energy Monitor reported in July that the iron and steel industry had made important strides towards net zero in the past year, with figures suggesting around 93% of new steelmaking capacity will use low-emissions electric-arc furnaces (EAF).

But there is a long way to go. The IEA wants to see 37% of the industry have an EAF by 2030. In the meantime, the traditional setup of a basic oxygen furnace (BOF) tends to predominate, particularly in China and India. And these have tended to run on non-renewable fossil fuels.

Technology pathways
Likely contenders in the contest to find a technology to decarbonize steel production include principally: hydrogen (either via direct injection, or a method called “direct reduced iron”), carbon capture and storage, and – as this article discusses – biocarbon.

The direct injection of hydrogen into blast furnaces is considered promising, and is currently at proof-of-concept stage, with a number of approaches receiving funding via the UK government’s Industrial Hydrogen Accelerator Programme. But current estimates suggest it will need extraordinary quantities of hydrogen, which in turn requires phenomenal amounts of green electricity to drive the electrolysis process (enough to power every home in Scandinavia for a year, says Teratel).

The process called Direct-Reduced Iron (DRI) is likely a longer-term bet given the need to construct new plants, and install EAFs. While DRI has run on natural gas, its replacement with green hydrogen offers a pathway to decarbonization.

This kind of DRI process involves exposing iron ore to hydrogen in a reactor vessel. Hydrogen reacts with the oxygen in the ore to produce direct-reduced iron, or sponge iron, which is then melted in an EAF to produce steel. An additional drawback is that it requires a higher-than-usual grade of iron ore, and a consistent size and quality of feedstock.

Carbon capture is being deployed widely in the steel industry, and can capture emissions from blast furnaces, or where there is limited opportunity to deploy lower-emissions production methods. But there are still huge challenges with figuring out a way to do it at scale, and within reasonable cost and energy constraints.

Near-term solution?
What looks like a more immediate prospect for decarbonizing all metallurgical applications – and other forms of hard-to-abate production – is to run existing blast furnaces not on hydrogen but on something comparable to existing feedstocks. “Biocarbon” has a more specific meaning than broader terms such as “biochar” or “bio-coal”, and really refers to a feedstock made from wood waste or otherwise biogenically-sourced material, which has been processed to produce something with a performance specification more closely matching fossil materials. The resulting product – available from Invica Industries as “ecoke” – is able to serve as something like a drop-in replacement for non-renewable fuels like coal, anthracite and metallurgical coke, without any significant requirement for modification of blast furnaces and other processes.

Recently, biocarbon has become a more commonplace fixture in discussions of steel industry decarbonization, suggests Invica’s Sam Beardshaw, “as people are starting to realize it’s the only immediate way to decarbonize the industry, or to ensure it can hit some of its near-term targets”.

A biocarbon product like ecoke is something quite different to the charcoal you might pull from a home barbeque, he explains.

Key to the proposition is its tight specification in relation to emissions, and the fact that it can enable steel production that complies with zero-emissions regulations such as the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive.

Beardshaw explained that the differences were fairly stark between a product (coal) which, without human interference, would allow carbon to remain locked underground (where it has lain for millions of years), and which you are now proposing to liberate from the ground via a mining process, and, on the other hand, another product (biocarbon) derived from a material like waste wood, which has been sustainably sourced, and which would otherwise decompose (and produce emissions) if you didn’t take it and transform it into something useful.

Sourcing is obviously a key part of the proposition, and ecoke uses material certified as coming from a sustainable, biogenic source. For this sourcing, Invica Industries has partnered with leading biocarbon producers in the world, said Beardshaw, all pulling from waste wood sources like sustainable forestry projects.

Producing the briquettes
The other element of the USP is the production process itself, and this waste material passes through a few process steps before you end up with the finished hybrid solution – an ecoke briquette, which provides a minimum 30% reduction in emissions in comparison to traditional fossil fuels.

Invica Industries literature quotes the ecoke30 product as providing emission reductions of 1 t CO2 / 1 t ecoke30 (i.e., for every tonne of ecoke used in place of conventional carbon-based fuel (like metallurgical coke), the resulting CO2 emissions are reduced by 1 tonne).

The material used to make ecoke is aggregated at the company’s production facility in Immingham. It undergoes pyrolysis, as with the production of biochar, to concentrate the carbon content. In its raw form, biocarbon is lower in fixed carbon than metcoke and anthracite. At this stage the material is also blended with some proportion of the latter kind of high-grade fossil fuel material, “in whatever proportion the end user requires”, says Beardshaw. In this way, biocarbon can be brought up to the performance specifications required by a steel producer.

Biocarbon in its raw form is also higher in volatiles (things like water vapour, tar, and organic materials) than metcoke or anthracite, for example, which would (if not minimised or removed) impact the behaviour and performance of the material during steelmaking. So these materials are also partially removed in the ecoke production process.

To provide the final pillow-shaped briquette, the blended material also passes through a proprietary agglomeration process, where a biomass binder material is added. This means the finished product can be transported in bulk, doesn’t break into small fragments, and won’t tend to absorb moisture from its surroundings.

The whole process entails overcoming a number of challenges. For example, some degree of yield loss is entailed in achieving the high-carbon fix, and so the selection of economic raw materials is essential.

Invica Industries’ facility is able to produce about 0.5M tonnes per year, which equates to a lot of fossil material being taken off the market, and Beardshaw said it is probably the only biocarbon solution in the EU that is ready to go at-scale, to create a product that can be used by almost any end user in the metals sector. “We think we’re in a good position to help people immediately decarbonize,” he said.

Experience gained
The huge selling point is obviously a putative zero-capex requirement for the end user, and the quoted 30% drop in emissions compared to using traditional fossil fuels.

No process changes are required. And existing handling and storage methods can be used.
Granted, it has a greater reactivity than traditional fossil fuels, so is unsuitable for some applications. It also provides a lower bulk density than conventional solid fuels.

But the company has been supplying ecoke since 2019, and Beardshaw said it is already the focus of “several interesting case studies with household names in the steel industry”.

One of the first customers has been Liberty Steel, which has had an ongoing R&D programme to increase the share of biocarbon in its production. The firm now provides a 100% biocarbon product that has been successfully used to create specialty steels used in the aerospace industry.

Balance sheet
Data is obviously paramount for firms looking to secure permits and satisfy the requirements of emissions trading schemes, a point that Inivica’s literature doesn’t overlook. “Each batch of ecoke is supplied with a comprehensive data pack that means end users can be confident in their application for ETS exemptions for the biocarbon share of the ecoke product”.

While approaches to decarbonizing steel production like hydrogen and CCS look very promising for the future, the ETS landscape seems to be changing quickly, with free allowances scheduled to decrease rapidly from 2026 onwards, and to disappear by 2034. There may well be an expanded role for technologies that can help pull down emissions a bit more quickly, and with less of an overhaul of existing processes.

When it comes to advancing along the decarbonization path, the accountancy certainly looks compelling, and favours a rapid shift.

A new filtration material developed by researchers at MIT might provide a nature-based solution to PFAS contamination, an obviously stubborn issue. The material, based on natural silk and cellulose, can seemingly remove a wide variety of these persistent chemicals as well as heavy metals. And, its antimicrobial properties can help keep the filters from fouling.

The findings are described in the journal ACS  Nano, in a paper by MIT postdoc Yilin Zhang, professor of civil and environmental engineering Benedetto Marelli, and four others from MIT.

PFAS chemicals are present in a wide range of products, including cosmetics, food packaging, water-resistant clothing, firefighting foams, and antistick coating for cookware. A recent study identified 57,000 sites contaminated by these chemicals in the U.S. alone. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that PFAS remediation will cost $1.5 billion per year, in order to meet new regulations that call for limiting the compound to less than 7 parts per trillion in drinking water.

Contamination by PFAS and similar compounds “is actually a very big deal, and current solutions may only partially resolve this problem very efficiently or economically,” Zhang says. “That’s why we came up with this protein and cellulose-based, fully natural solution,” he says.

“We came to the project by chance,” Marelli notes. The initial technology that made the filtration material possible was developed by his group for a completely unrelated purpose — as a way to make a labelling system to counter the spread of counterfeit seeds, which are often of inferior quality. His team devised a way of processing silk proteins into uniform nanoscale crystals, or “nanofibrils,” through an environmentally benign, water-based drop-casting method at room temperature.

Zhang suggested that their new nanofibrillar material might be effective at filtering contaminants, but initial attempts with the silk nanofibrils alone didn’t work. The team decided to try adding another material: cellulose, which is abundantly available and can be obtained from agricultural wood pulp waste. The researchers used a self-assembly method in which the silk fibroin protein is suspended in water and then templated into nanofibrils by inserting “seeds” of cellulose nanocrystals. This causes the previously disordered silk molecules to line up together along the seeds, forming the basis of a hybrid material with distinct new properties.

By integrating cellulose into the silk-based fibrils that could be formed into a thin membrane, and then tuning the electrical charge of the cellulose, the researchers produced a material that was highly effective at removing contaminants in lab tests.

The electrical charge of the cellulose, they found, also gave it strong antimicrobial properties. This is a significant advantage, since one of the primary causes of failure in filtration membranes is fouling by bacteria and fungi. The antimicrobial properties of this material should greatly reduce that fouling issue, the researchers say.

“These materials can really compete with the current standard materials in water filtration when it comes to extracting metal ions and these emerging contaminants, and they can also outperform some of them currently,” Marelli says. In lab tests, the materials were able to extract orders of magnitude more of the contaminants from water than the currently used standard materials, activated carbon or granular activated carbon.

While the new work serves as a proof of principle, Marelli says, the team plans to continue working on improving the material, especially in terms of durability and availability of source materials. While the silk proteins used can be available as a byproduct of the silk textile industry, if this material were to be scaled up to address the global needs for water filtration, the supply might be insufficient. Also, alternative protein materials may turn out to perform the same function at lower cost.

Initially, the material would likely be used as a point-of-use filter, something that could be attached to a kitchen faucet, Zhang says. Eventually, it could be scaled up to provide filtration for municipal water supplies, but only after testing demonstrates that this would not pose any risk of introducing any contamination into the water supply. But one big advantage of the material, he says, is that both the silk and the cellulose constituents are considered food-grade substances, so any contamination is unlikely.

“Most of the normal materials available today are focusing on one class of contaminants or solving single problems,” Zhang says. “I think we are among the first to address all of these simultaneously.”

The research team included MIT postdocs Hui Sun and Meng Li, graduate student Maxwell Kalinowski, and recent graduate Yunteng Cao PhD ’22, now a postdoc at Yale. The work was supported by the Office of Naval Research, the National Science Foundation, and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology.

A new study attempts to shine a light on the enormous scale of uncollected rubbish and open burning of plastic waste in what’s described as the first ever global plastics pollution inventory.

University of Leeds researchers used AI to model waste management in more than 50,000 municipalities around the world. This model allowed them to predict how much waste was generated globally and what happens to it, say the researchers.

Their study, published in the journal Nature, calculated a staggering 52 million tonnes of plastic products entered the environment in 2020 – which, laid out in a line would stretch around the World over 1,500 times.

It also revealed that more than two thirds of the planet’s plastic pollution comes from uncollected rubbish with almost 1.2 billion people — 15% of the global population — living without access to waste collection services.

The findings further show that in 2020 roughly 30 million tonnes of plastics — amounting to 57% of all plastic pollution — was burned without any environmental controls in place, in homes, on streets and in dumpsites. Burning plastic comes with ‘substantial’ threats to human health, including neurodevelopmental, reproductive and birth defects.

The researchers also identified new plastic pollution hotspots, revealing India as the biggest contributor — rather than China as has been suggested in previous models — followed by Nigeria and Indonesia.

(Above) Infographic: Top 10 Plastic Polluters Ranked (image credit: Dr Angeliki Savvantoglou of Bear Bones). Click to enlarge.

Lack of rubbish harms health, environment and economy
The researchers believe the study shows access to waste collection should be seen as a basic necessity and a vital aspect of sanitation, alongside water and sewerage services.

While uncontrolled burning of plastic has received very little attention in the past, the new calculations show it to be at least as big a problem as rubbish thrown into the environment, even once uncertainty in the model is taken into consideration.

Dr Costas Velis, academic on Resource Efficiency Systems from the School of Civil Engineering at Leeds, led the research. He said: “We need to start focusing much, much more on tackling open burning and uncollected waste before more lives are needlessly impacted by plastic pollution. It cannot be ‘out of sight, out of mind’.”

First author Dr Josh Cottom, Research Fellow in Plastics Pollution at Leeds, said: “Uncollected waste is the biggest source of plastic pollution, with at least 1.2 billion people living without waste collection services forced to ‘self-manage’ waste, often by dumping it on land, in rivers, or burning it in open fires.”

Dr Cottom added: “The health risks resulting from plastic pollution affect some of the world’s poorest communities, who are powerless to do anything about it. By improving basic solid waste management, we can both massively reduce plastic pollution and improve the lives of billions.”

Each year, more than 400 million tonnes of plastic is produced. Many plastic products are single-use, hard to recycle, and can stay in the environment for decades or centuries, often being fragmented into smaller items. Some plastics contain potentially harmful chemical additives which could pose a threat to human health, particularly if they are burned in the open.

New plastic pollution hotspots revealed
According to the paper’s estimated global data for 2020, the worst polluting countries were: India: 9.3 million tonnes — around a fifth of the total amount; Nigeria: 3.5 million tonnes; and Indonesia: 3.4 million tonnes.

China, previously reported to be the worst, is now ranked fourth, with 2.8 million tonnes, as a result of improvements collecting and processing waste over recent years. The UK was ranked 135, with around 4,000 tonnes per year, with littering the biggest source.

Low and middle-income countries have much lower plastic waste generation, but a large proportion of it is either uncollected or disposed of in dumpsites. India emerges as the largest contributor because it has a large population, roughly 1.4 billion, and much of its waste isn’t collected.

The contrast between plastic waste emissions from the Global North and the Global South is stark. Despite high plastic consumption, macroplastic pollution — pollution from plastic objects larger than 5 millimeters — is a comparatively small issue in the Global North as waste management systems function comprehensively. There, littering is the main cause of macroplastic pollution.

Growing fears for sub-Saharan Africa
While many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have generally low levels of plastic pollution, they become hotspots when looked at on a per-capita basis with an average 12 kg plastic pollution per person per year, equivalent to over 400 plastic bottles. For comparison, the United Kingdom currently has the per-capita equivalent of less than three plastic bottles per person per year.

Researchers are worried this indicates Sub-Saharan Africa could become the world’s largest source of plastic pollution in the next few decades, because many of its countries have poor waste management and the population is anticipated to grow rapidly.

World needs a ‘Plastics Treaty’ informed by science
Researchers say this first ever global inventory of plastic pollution provides a baseline — comparable to those for climate change emissions — that can be used by policymakers to tackle this looming environmental disaster. They want their work to help policymakers come up with waste management, resource recovery and wider circular economy plans, and want to see a new, ambitious and legally binding, global ‘Plastics Treaty’ aimed at tackling the sources of plastic pollution.

Dr Velis said: “This is an urgent global human health issue — an ongoing crisis: people whose waste is not collected have no option but to dump or burn it: setting the plastics on fire may seem to make them ‘disappear’, but in fact the open burning of plastic waste can lead to substantial human health damage including neurodevelopmental, reproductive and birth defects; and much wider environmental pollution dispersion.”

Second author Ed Cook, Research Fellow in Circular Economy Systems for Waste Plastics at Leeds, said: “In the past policymakers have struggled to tackle this problem, partly because of the scarcity of good quality data. We hope that our detailed local scale dataset will help decision-makers to allocate scarce resources to address plastic pollution efficiently.”