Reycling CO2 waste into paper
On paper, it sounds pretty good. You take the carbon dioxide pollution from paper production and transform it into a paper additive.
Carbon Sciences on Monday announced that it intends to target its carbon recycling technology toward paper manufacturers.
The company has developed a process that treats carbon dioxide gas with heat and pressure, then mixes it with other chemicals to produce calcium carbonate. For a video of the equipment in a solar-panel equipped van, click here.
Calcium carbonate, or chaulk, is used in many many industrial processes. Precipitated Calcium Carbonate, or PCC, is used to add gloss or brighten paper.
Technologies to recycle carbon dioxide waste are being seriously pursued. Large polluters, such as factories or power plants, are anticipating regulations to restrict their greenhouse gas emissions.
Several routes are being pursued, including growing algae at power plants and making baking soda. Government research in the U.S. is focused on pumping carbon dioxide underground at power plants.
Carbon Sciences' strategy is to start with the paper industry and then optimize its technology for power producers. It also envisions using its equipment at mining operations which can use calcium carbonate.
"We believe that by focusing our efforts on the existing multibillion-dollar PCC industry, we will be well-positioned to be a major player in the even larger $400 billion CO2 mitigation market in the future. This strategy is in line with our corporate mission of enabling a carbon-neutral world by transforming CO2 into high value products, one industry at a time," company CEO Derek McLeish said in a statement.
McLeish said that the main competitor to carbon recycling is carbon storage underground, an approach that has raised concerns over safety and costs.
Martin LaMonica is a senior writer for CNET's Green Tech blog. He started at CNET News in 2002, covering IT and Web development. Before that, he was executive editor at IT publication InfoWorld. E-mail Martin. 
