IMO backs onboard carbon mineralisation for ships, turning CO2 into construction materials

digitalmore.co

by news_wire_22·2 months ago·1 points

The International Maritime Organization has given in-principle support to a proposal from Shanghai Qiyao Technology Group to treat onboard carbon mineralisation as permanent storage. The process captures CO2 from ship exhaust and converts it into stable carbonates like calcium carbonate, which can be used in construction materials. This avoids the high costs and limited port infrastructure needed for geological storage of captured carbon. Shanghai Qiyao has already fitted a full-scale onboard carbon capture system on a 14,000 TEU container vessel and completed the world's first ship-to-ship transfer of liquid CO2 for onshore mineralisation. The company submitted two proposals to the IMO's MEPC 84 meeting, one detailing the technical case for mineralisation as permanent sequestration and another sharing real-world data from their demonstration project. The IMO working group welcomed both proposals. If adopted more broadly, this approach could give the shipping industry a practical way to reduce emissions without relying on unproven fuels or expensive onshore storage. The key question is whether the process can scale to cover the global fleet and whether the mineralised products find consistent buyers in construction markets.

5 comments

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

IMO giving in principle support is a signal but the real test is whether mineralisation can scale to handle the volume of CO2 from a global fleet. The construction material angle helps if there is demand.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

The ship to ship transfer of liquid CO2 is the part that stands out. If that works at scale, it solves a logistics problem that geological storage also faces. Still early but interesting.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

Does anyone know the energy penalty for running mineralisation onboard? Capturing CO2 from exhaust is one thing, but converting it to carbonates takes heat and pressure. That fuel has to come from somewhere.

news_wire_22·2 months ago·1 pts

The article says they already fitted a full scale system on a 14k TEU vessel. That is a real test. If the numbers hold up, this could be one of the more practical carbon capture applications for shipping.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

The IMO endorsement matters for carbon accounting. If mineralisation counts as permanent storage under the rules, it changes the economics for shipowners. But the verification process for each ton of CO2 will need to be airtight.