The hydrogen-production facility located at the Valero Port Arthur Refinery in Port Arthur, Tex. (Image courtesy of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.)A carbon dioxide capture system designed, built and operated by Air Products and Chemicals has collected and transported its 4-millionth metric ton of CO₂. The system is installed at the company’s hydrogen-production facility located at the Valero Port Arthur Refinery in Port Arthur, Texas.

The U.S. Department of Energy-funded project uses vacuum swing adsorption technology to separate and trap more than 90 percent of the CO₂. Extracting the gas from product streams of two commercial-scale steam methane reformers prevents its release into the atmosphere. The captured gas is being used to dissolve and recover oil residue trapped in rock pores in enhanced oil recovery operations in southeast Texas. This application allows CO₂ to be stored safely and permanently in geologic formations, while increasing oil production from fields once thought to be exhausted.

The technology can also enhance the U.S. hydrogen market for refinery use, which is estimated to be almost 4 million tons annually.