A Blueprint for Future Work: Local 595 Helps Build Carbon Capture Facility

Members of Dublin, Calif., Local 595 recently finished work on a first-of-its-kind facility in the U.S. where the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide gets absorbed out of the air. Visiting the new Heirloom Carbon Technologies plant in Tracy, Calif.., are, from left: Ninth District International Representative Gretchen Newsom, Local 595 Business Representative Juan Perez, Ninth District International Representative Micah Mitrosky, and Local 595 Business Manager Greg Bonato and Business Representative Gorgina Halaufia.

http://www.ibew.org/media-center/Articles/24Daily/2402/240205_CarbonCapture

February 5, 2024

It might sound like science fiction, but members of Dublin, Calif., Local 595 recently finished work on a facility where carbon dioxide, the key chemical compound driving the global climate change crisis, gets absorbed right out of the air.

“As our members continue to work on renewable energy sources that reduce reliance on fossil fuels, we’re proud to be at the forefront of this innovative solution to the greenhouse effect problem,” said Greg Bonato, business manager of Local 595, whose jurisdiction covers about 2,500 members in California’s Alameda, Calaveras and San Joaquin counties.

The plant is the first of its kind in the U.S. and uses a direct air capture method that relies on wind power. Heirloom Carbon Technologies chose the site in Tracy, Calif. — about an hour’s drive east of San Francisco — because of the area’s high winds, said Local 595 Business Representative Gorgina Halaufia.

The Heirloom facility, which started operating in fall 2023, comprises a cluster of 40-foot-high open-air racks. Each holds dozens of trays filled with powdered limestone, which is a mix of calcium oxide and carbon dioxide, or CO2.

During natural, years-long processes, some of limestone’s CO2 gas escapes, leaving the remaining solids to attract and store replacement CO2. The technique used by Heirloom greatly accelerates this cycle to just three days, using kilns powered by renewable energy to heat the limestone and then siphon away the outgassed CO2 for storage, either underground or in concrete.

FULL story at link above.