Zero Emission Through Sector Coupling (ZEUS): Membrane CO2 separation

The flagship project ZEUS (Zero Emissions throUgh Sectorcoupling) focuses on the steel and cement industry as representatives of industrial sectors that are difficult to decarbonize (“Hard-to-Abate-Industry”). The aim is to develop and demonstrate – across sectors – a climate-neutral process chain, from the production and processing of green hydrogen under fluctuating process conditions, to the capture of CO₂ from industrial waste gases and the conversion into valuable, storable products. It aims to follow several promising process technology routes for coupled Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) that shall be demonstrated in field in several demonstration units. The ZEUS projects were started in October 2023, are funded with a total budget of 16,8 Mio € by capital from the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund. 

Within the given framework of the ZEUS consortium, Rohrdorfer NZEL acts as strong partner together with others in the work field of further developing CCU processes in the steel and cement industry for the electricity based production of chemical products to a technology readiness level (TRL) of 6. 

The work package of Rohrdorfer NZEL within the ZEUS consortium is to demonstrate the coupling of a membrane based CO₂ separation unit together with CO₂ electrolysis to produce Formic Acid developed in-house. 

The ZEUS pilot capture unit, set to go live in early 2025, is configured to capture 0.5 tons per day. The initiative – focusing on the membrane separation unit – further aims to elucidate the optimal integration of membranes into a cement production site, with key objectives including assessing energy requirements, CO₂ purity, and membrane durability within the environment of cement kiln off gas.