Ecospec promises to wash out CO2 with seawater

Singapore-based startup Ecospec Global Technology says it has developed a technology to reduce CO₂ emissions by 74 percent in power plants and ships.

Dubbed CSNOx, the technique involves spraying electrified seawater into a smoke stream. The seawater splits the carbon dioxide into carbon and oxygen, with oxygen being released and carbon becoming a fine, white dust. Meanwhile, sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide are turned into sulphate and nitrate, which can be safely released into seawater.

The result is nearly 93 percent efficiency at removing SO₂, 82 percent NOx and 74.4 percent CO₂, the company says.

The company says it realizes it has a long way to go to prove its technology but its initial tests support the claims. Last week, the company demonstrated the technology for Danish business leaders at a port in Singapore.

"I believe that the results from Singapore sounds promising," Force Technology Development Manager Trine Erdal told the Danish-language newspaper Business DK after the demonstration. "But right now it seems almost too good to be true."

The company says that the Singapore government has promised to install the technology at a power plant this year. Additionally, Ecospec says the American Bureau of Shipping confirmed the measurements earlier this year.

The company, founded by Chew Hwee Hong, has opened a Danish office to support its talks with Scandinavian energy companies.

The company says the technology is an alternative to lower-sulfur fuel, which can cause health problems for people, engine problems, and higher costs. Traditional use of seawater to scrub emissions doesn't remove CO₂ or NOx, and increases the acidity of seawater, the company said.