EXAMPLES FROM BULGARIA ON CARBON CAPTURE, USE AND STORAGE WERE PRESENTED AT THE BULGARIAN PAVILION AT COP28
The Minister of Environment and Water hosted an event at the Bulgarian pavilion at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai on "Industrial symbiosis: an opportunity for the economy and the climate".
Leading Bulgarian companies presented opportunities for absorption of CO2 and other waste in energy-intensive sectors, as well as examples by the Bulgarian industry related to carbon capture, utilisation, and storage and the creation of valuable new products.
"‘Heidelberg’ is investing in an offshore carbon storage project,” shared Konstantin Bozhinov, head of the concern's ANRAV project. This is the only project by the Group that is approved for funding by the European Innovation Fund, unique for Europe in many respects. The combination of two innovative safe carbon capture technologies is expected to achieve the safe storage of approximately 800 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide per year, said Bozhinov. The project is planned to be operational in 2028.
The “SAPHIRRE” project, developed jointly by “Solvay Sodi” and “Agropolichim”, goes even beyond storage - to finding ways to recover carbon dioxide, stated Teodora Borisova and Maya Stefanova, representing the two companies. Two waste streams from production are used - carbon dioxide, emitted in the production of soda ash, and phosphogypsum - a waste product from phosphoric acid production, whereby the end products are suitable for direct use in agriculture or in construction. This is an example not only of sustainability and circular economy, but also of close cooperation between large producers, Borisova and Stefanova summarised.
In the future, products produced using decarbonisation methods will be extremely competitive, Konstantin Bozhinov concluded.