Turning Urban CO2 and Waste Into Consumer Products

• The EU-funded WaterProof initiative is developing technology to capture CO2 emissions from waste incinerators and wastewater treatment plants and convert them into formic acid.
• Formic acid is a versatile chemical used in everyday products, including eco-friendly cleaning supplies and leather tanning.
• The electrochemical process uses renewable electricity, offering a circular alternative to fossil-based chemical feedstocks.
• The system aims to expand to a large-scale pilot by summer 2026, with the potential to integrate into urban infrastructure.

The Circular Innovation

• Avantium leads the research, focusing on keeping carbon in use rather than storing it underground.
• The conversion process utilizes an electrochemical cell where renewable electricity reduces captured CO2 into formic acid.
• Researchers are also investigating a secondary reaction within the same cell to produce hydrogen peroxide, which could treat pollutants like pharmaceuticals and pesticides in wastewater.

Material Recovery

• Beyond carbon reuse, the team is developing "deep eutectic solvents" to extract valuable metals—such as copper, lithium, cobalt, and gold—from incinerator ash and sewage sludge.
• These solvents provide more precise metal separation compared to current mechanical methods, though economic feasibility remains a challenge due to low market prices for many materials.

Future Outlook

• HVC, a Dutch waste management partner, currently sells some captured CO2 to greenhouse farmers, but acknowledges this as a temporary solution rather than a permanent sequestration.
• The modular design of the WaterProof system allows for adaptation at various urban sites.
• Proposed EU regulations for 2026 aim to boost the use of recycled materials, potentially supporting the commercial viability of these circular technologies.