Frequently Asked Questions - Airborne
See the glossary
for definitions of terms.
- Who
is Airborne and what is its history?
- The power
generation Utility business has
been historically slow to change,
will Airborne be able to penetrate
this market?
- How
much risk is there in the technology
performing as expected?
- Will
the production of fertilizer from
the Airborne facilities negatively
impact the fertilizer market?
- What
differentiates Airborne's fertilizer
technology from existing technology?
- The
Airborne process requires a significant
capital investment. Will customers
accept this level of investment
in pollution abatement?
- Can
the Airborne process be successfully
scaled from the demo size to full
commercial?
- Are
George Bush and the Republicans
in the U.S. reducing the pressure
on U.S. Utilities to reduce emissions?
- The
pollution abatement market for coal-fired
plants is very large and must have
attracted a number of competitors.
Who is Airborne's competition and
why is the Airborne process superior?
- What
are the advantages of Airborne's
process over competitive processes?
- If
this process works as expected,
why would others not enter the market
and drive the Airborne profitability
down?
- New
electrical power plants, including
coal-fired facilities have long
approval times. Will this cause
the Airborne process to roll out
slower than expected?
- What
impact will the new hydrogen fuel
cells have on conventional coal-fired
electrical power generation?
- Is
natural gas electrical power generation
going to push coal fired generators
out of the market?
- What
is sodium bicarbonate and what are
its uses?
- What
is sodium sulfate and what are its
uses?
- What
is the problem related to sodium
sulfate disposal?
- How
does Airborne's method of manufacturing
sodium bicarbonate differ from other
manufacturers?
Who
is Airborne and what is its history?
Airborne was formed
in January 1995 when one of it's co-founders
learned of a technology using baking
soda (sodium bicarbonate) to remove
sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide (nitrous
oxides cause low level smog &
ozone) from industrial gases being
emitted to the atmosphere. Sulfur
dioxide is an environmentally harmful
substance that combines with water
to form acid rain, which is harmful
to humans, vegetation and global water
bodies. The limitation of sodium bicarbonate
technology was the high cost of the
sodium bicarbonate and the disposal
of the resulting sodium sulfate by-product.
When Airborne's co-founders discovered
that an International producer of
sodium sulfate who mined, purified
and sold the product from the large
lakebed deposits in the province of
Saskatchewan were conducting research
to convert sodium sulfate to sodium
bicarbonate. The idea of the Airborne
Process was born i.e. the combining
of the technologies:
i) sulfur dioxide
and nitrous oxide are removed from
gas streams by sodium bicarbonate
resulting in the formation of sodium
sulfate
ii) converting
sodium sulfate back to sodium bicarbonate
with a profitable fertilizer byproduct
represented a tremendous opportunity.
Airborne was
formed and purchased the Ormiston
Mining and Smelting Company, the sodium
sulfate plant where the research was
being done. Airborne has devoted 6
years and $23 million of research
and development to this revolutionary
technology.
The power generation
Utility business has been historically
slow to change, will Airborne be able
to penetrate this market?
YES, Utilities are
required by government to reduce emissions.
The existing cleaning processes are
not completely effective and they
have large capital and operating costs.
Following a successful demonstration,
our partner LG&E Energy is anxious
to go forward with the implementation
of Airborne's first commercial facility.
How
much risk is there in the technology
performing as expected?
The Airborne process
consists of three steps which have
been already proven. The sodium scrubbing
step was proven with six commercial
facilities having been installed.
The regeneration step was proven by
Airborne at Ormiston, Saskatchewan,
producing up to 20 tons per day of
product. The final step, fertilizer
granulation has been demonstrated
and will be employed in a commercial
scale facility now being built. The
demonstration plant will showcase
the integration of these three proven
steps.
Will
the production of fertilizer from
the Airborne facilities negatively
impact the fertilizer market?
The Airborne process
allows for the production of a variety
of existing and new fertilizer products
that will minimize market impact.
The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan
is the world's largest producer of
fertilizer and they have indicated
that the fertilizers produced through
the Airborne Process are entirely
complementary to the types of fertilizers
they currently sell and have signed
an agreement with Airborne to market
the fertilizer produced through the
Airborne Process. Overall, the fertilizer
industry is a global business with
a large and growing market. With the
initial target of eight Airborne facilities,
our impact on the fertilizer market
of fertilizer generated from these
facilities will be less than 1% of
the nitrogen market and less than
6% of the sulphur market.
What
differentiates Airborne's fertilizer
technology from existing technology?
The differentiation
lies in the manner in which the fertilizer
pellet is formed and the positive
impact this has on the cost and quality
of the granule produced. Current technology
uses a costly compaction method or
agglomeration process. Airborne's
technology uses a more economical
pan granulation approach to consistently
produce a uniform, round, hard and
durable pellet.
The
Airborne process requires a significant
capital investment. Will customers
accept this level of investment in
pollution abatement?
YES, any of the competing
abatement processes require similar
or higher levels of capital and unlike
the profitable Airborne process, they
incur significant annual operating
costs. Utilities are used to investing
these levels of capital in pollution
control now and are excited to realize
a return on their investment by employing
the Airborne solution.
Can
the Airborne process be successfully
scaled from the demo size to full
commercial?
YES, all three steps
of the Airborne process have been
successful in commercial applications:
- Sodium
bicarbonate scrubbing has been done
at full commercial scale
- Airborne
has successfully regenerated up
to 20 tons per day
- Pan granulation has
been proven in a commercial facility
Are
George Bush and the Republicans in
the U.S. reducing the pressure on
U.S. Utilities to reduce emissions?
NO,
a recent speech by President George
Bush on February 14, 2002 stated:
"Today
I call for new Clean Skies legislation
that sets tough new standards to dramatically
reduce the three most significant
forms of pollution from power plants;
sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and
mercury.
We
will cut sulfur dioxide emissions
by 73 percent from current levels.
We will cut nitrogen oxide emissions
by 67 percent. And, for the first
time ever, we will cap emissions of
mercury, cutting them by 69 percent.
These cuts will be completed over
two measured phases, with one set
of emission limits for 2010 and for
the other for 2018."
Executive Summary
- The Clear Skies Initiative is available
here.
The
pollution abatement market for coal-fired
plants is very large and must have
attracted a number of competitors.
Who is Airborne's competition and
why is the Airborne process superior?
Airborne has studied
in excess of 35 competing technologies
for pollution abatement and has found
no rival for Airborne's multi-pollutant
cleaning capabilities and economics.
Some 85% of existing cleaning systems
use limestone scrubbing for SOx removal
and an SCR for NOx removal. The Airborne
Process has been compared to each
of these technologies and has proven
to be far superior.
What
are the advantages of Airborne's process
over competitive processes?
Airborne's regeneration
process has considerably lower costs
and offers a multi-pollutant cleaning
solution with one system. A significant
advantage, is the production of commercial
fertilizer by-products, ammonium sulfate
and potassium sulfate, through the
Airborne Process. Airborne's greatest
advantage is our multi-pollutant cleaning
system. In short, lower operating
costs and a new profit stream make
the Airborne process a highly lucrative
solution.
If
this process works as expected, why
would others not enter the market
and drive the Airborne profitability
down?
Airborne has global
patents which protect our sodium bicarbonate
regeneration process, the component
that allows for the economical use
of sodium bicarbonate as a scrubbing
agent. The fertilizer granulation
process which creates the high quality
fertilizer, is also patented.
Other companies have
researched the technology for converting
sodium sulfate to sodium bicarbonate
by using ammonia and carbon dioxide
but they have been stymied in their
efforts due to chemical reaction completion.
Due to Airborne's extensive research
efforts, procedures have been developed
and patented to shift this reaction
completion efficiency providing the
basis for an economically viable process.
New
electrical power plants, including
coal-fired facilities have long approval
times. Will this cause the Airborne
process to roll out slower than expected?
NO, Airborne is initially
targeting the retrofit market since
the demand is immediate and we can
roll out Airborne facilities quickly.
In the future, use of our technology
on new coal plants is expected to
provide for a very large available
market.
What
impact will the new hydrogen fuel
cells have on conventional coal-fired
electrical power generation?
NONE, hydrogen fuel
cells require hydrogen which requires
electricity to produce increasing
the demand for electrical power. There
is no current energy source, other
than nuclear, that could ultimately
replace fossil fuels.
Is
natural gas electrical power generation
going to push coal fired generators
out of the market?
NO, while natural
gas fired electrical generation has
increased substantially, it represents
less than 15% of the electricity generated
in North America. Furthermore, natural
gas reserves are incapable of challenging
coal's dominant market position in
North America and throughout the world.
What
is sodium bicarbonate and what are
its uses?
Sodium bicarbonate,
commonly called baking soda, is a
white crystalline powder not commonly
found in nature but generally manufactured
from other sodium based materials.
It is composed of sodium, hydrogen,
carbon and oxygen molecules represented
by the formula NaHCO3. In the last
century, sodium bicarbonate has been
manufactured by adding carbon dioxide
gas to sodium carbonate. Sodium carbonate
has been manufactured using lime and
salt or from the natural deposits
of Trona found in Wyoming. The two
leaders in sodium bicarbonate production
are Church & Dwight (Arm &
Hammer and Cow Brand), and Belgium
based Solvay. Sodium bicarbonate is
commonly used in baking, deodorizing,
fire suppression, animal feed supplements
and household/industrial cleaners.
What
is sodium sulfate and what are its
uses?
Sodium sulfate is
a common chemical that exists in nature
in dry deposits and semi-dry lakebeds.
It is composed of sodium, sulfur and
oxygen molecules represented by the
formula Na2SO4. In its refined state,
it is a white crystalline powder.
Deposits of sodium sulfate result
from thousands of years of accumulation
of salts leached by run-off water,
which becomes trapped in low elevations.
The water evaporates, leaving the
resultant residue or salt behind.
Sodium sulfate has been historically
used as an additive in detergents,
in the fabrication of glass and in
the pulp and paper industry but its
market is being reduced as environmental
regulations limit its use.
What
is the problem related to sodium sulfate
disposal?
Sodium sulfate is soluble
in water and since it can leach into
the surrounding environment there
are a number of issues regarding it's
containment and subsequent disposal.
How
does Airborne's method of manufacturing
sodium bicarbonate differ from other
manufacturers?
Airborne's raw material
is sodium sulfate, that is a byproduct
from a facility using sodium bicarbonate
to capture sulfur dioxide from its
exit gases. The sodium sulfate is
reacted with ammonia and carbon dioxide
in a chemical reaction to form sodium
bicarbonate. Other producers of sodium
bicarbonate use sodium carbonate as
the basic raw material and react it
with carbon dioxide to produce sodium
bicarbonate.
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