CARBFIX

This past project advanced considerably our ability to clean the exhaust gases emitted by geothermal power plants based on a novel water dissolution method in a dedicated scrubbing tower. The injection of the resulting gas charged waters into the subsurface disposes the captured gases within precipitated minerals that remain stable over geologic time. This method has been demonstrated to be successful and has been running at the Hellisheidi power plant in Iceland for the past three years. Through this industrial scale demonstration, this new method has been demonstrated 1) to offer considerable cost savings compared to other approaches to capture and dispose acidic carbon and sulphur bearing gases; 2) to be far more environmentally compared to other available technologies; and 3) to aid in the long-term viability of geothermal systems by enhancing the permeability of fluid injection wells.