Shell springs clean technologies
27 Mar 2006
Orkney-based Scotrenewables was the first ever winner of the Springboard UK awards with an innovative tidal turbine design. The renewable energy business beat off competition from over 250 other Springboard entrants to scoop the award, which includes £40,000 in Springboard funding
Process technologies were also strongly represented among Springboard finalists, which included a novel activated carbon-based system from Guildford-based MAST Carbon Technology.
MAST’s monolithic system can create highly efficient, compact and ultra lightweight CO2 recovery systems for remote offshore oil and gas platform installations. The system is similar in concept to the automotive catalytic converters, but instead of using ceramics and metals, employs the highly absorbent properties of activated carbon to trap CO2 emissions.
Once recovered, the emissions can be stored in a geological structure or re-injected back into old gas or oilfields on the seabed, thereby preventing CO2 from reaching the atmosphere.
Cranfield University spin off Water Innovate, meanwhile, was recognised for its development of a low cost monitor to detect N2O emissions from wastewater. The firm’s N-Tox device can track emissions levels of N2O — released when too much ammonia remains in the treated water.
The system can help to prevent the release of dangerous levels of ammonia getting into our waterways and establish whether they have a damaging greenhouse gas problem, according to Water Innovate.
Another Springboard finalist, Clear Process Ltd of Aberdeen developed a membrane technology for the removal of acid gas from natural gas to facilitate management of greenhouse and other gas emissions as well as more efficient fuel production.
According to Clear Process, the technology represents a breakthrough in “affordable CO2 separation technology for the mass industrial market, regardless of scale and regardless of the source.”
