BIOCARBONICS’
CONTINUITY OF SUPPLY
BIOCARBONIC'S’ SUPPLY SOLUTION
BioCarbonics has developed a new supply model for the UK’s CO2 industry, which guarantees a better continuity of supply than the industry has seen before.
Instead of relying on one or two large sources of CO2 from ammonia or other chemical processes, BioCarbonics relies on multiple smaller sources of reliable “green” CO2, which is recovered from bio-methane production, where clean, renewable, bio-feedstocks are being converted to renewable green gas for injection into the natural gas pipeline.
These facilities, which are less than a tenth of the size of the typical CO2 factories associated with the ammonia industry, have strong track records of high reliability and uptime, and are spread throughout a region, diversifying the CO2 production assets and reducing the chance for supply disruptions. And they produce “green” CO2, as opposed to CO2 recovered from ammonia sources which burn fossil fuels.
THE CO₂ INDUSTRY
In the UK and Ireland, over 500 million kilograms per year of carbon dioxide (CO2) is used for a variety of applications. These include the carbonation of soft drinks and alcoholic beverages and the stimulation of photosynthesis in glass greenhouses where flowers, fruits and vegetables are grown.
Most of this CO2 is recovered from industrial processes where CO2 is produced as a by-product, and unless captured, is emitted into the air.
TRADITIONAL SOURCES OF CO₂ PRODUCTION
Historically, the primary sources for CO2 recovery across the globe has been the ammonia industry, where around 1.3 tonnes of CO2 are generated (direct emissions) for each tonne of ammonia produced.
In the UK, with over 1 million tonnes of ammonia production capacity, the CO2 industry has relied heavily on these sources for domestic CO2 supply. However, due to ever increasing energy costs, aging production assets, and the shift of industrial production to low-cost markets, the ammonia industry in the UK has become extremely volatile, with numerous long-term shutdowns due to economic and mechanical reasons.
INDUSTRY SUPPLY ISSUES
Since the closure of the Severnside ammonia plant in 2006, the CO2 industry in the UK has been plagued by supply reliability issues, with numerous long-term shutdowns on an annual basis, leading to supply curtailments, delivery surcharges, and in some instances, complete lack of supply due to “force majeure”.
The most notable shortage of CO2 in the UK was the recent shortage during the summer of 2018, where all domestic UK ammonia plants (and therefore the CO2 recovery plants) and several of the plants which import CO2 into the UK from the European continent were shut down for maintenance reasons, and remained shut down for an extended period throughout the summer due to the low price of ammonia versus the high cost of natural gas.
Although the summer of 2018 was a “perfect storm”, there are numerous examples of similar dynamics in various shapes and forms over the past 15 years, which have created problems and stress for customers who are dependent on a reliable supply of CO2 for their businesses.
THE FUTURE
BioCarbonics is currently active in the southwest of England, and we are quickly expanding our CO2 supply chain into the rest of the UK. We encourage you to talk to us about becoming your supplier for food and beverage grade liquid CO2.