STRATOS - 1PointFive's Direct Air Capture Facility

Overview

• Location: Ector County, Texas
• Size: Approximately 65 acres
  • Working footprint: 430 meters long, 270 meters wide
• Capacity: Capture up to 500,000 metric tons of CO₂ annually
• Significance: Largest Direct Air Capture (DAC) facility in the world

Core Components

1. Air Contactors
   • Positioned around the perimeter
   • Function: Draws in air and contacts CO₂ with potassium hydroxide solution
2. Central Processing Facility
   • Includes centrifuges, slakers, and notably the calciner
3. Pellet Reactors
   • Reaction with calcium hydroxide to form calcium carbonate pellets
4. Centrifuge
   • Separates calcium carbonate pellets from residual liquid
5. Calciner
   • Heats pellets to release CO₂ which is 90% pure

Process Description

• CO₂ Capture
  • CO₂ interacts with potassium hydroxide in air contactors to form a CO₂ rich liquid
  • Liquid sorbent system allows continuous cycle, enhancing efficiency
• Pellet Formation
  • Calcium hydroxide added to form calcium carbonate pellets
  • CO₂ concentration increased to 40% in pellet reactors
• Separation and Recycling
  • Centrifuge separates pellets, recycling potassium hydroxide
  • Calciner releases CO₂; calcium oxide remains are processed in slaker
• Slaker
  • Converts calcium oxide back to calcium hydroxide
  • Recirculates calcium hydroxide back to pellet reactors

Strategic Location

• Reason for Texas Location: Extensive experience with CO₂ storage by parent company Oxy

Technology and Innovation

• Existing Technologies: Utilizes equipment like calciners and cooling towers
• Potential Uses for Captured CO₂:
  • New materials like plastics, cement, graphene, diamonds, and protein
• Future Vision: Establish CO₂ innovation centers around DAC hubs
  • Encourage technology startups to use CO₂ in pilot/demo plants

Impacts and Opportunities

• Economic and Environmental Benefits
  • Significant positive impact on climate and economy
  • Enables new product development utilizing captured CO₂
• Global Challenges
  • STRATOS offers opportunities for industries to contribute positively

Conclusion: STRATOS is a pioneering project in the field of DAC, aiming for large-scale CO₂ removal with potential widespread benefits for the environment and economy.