Agricultural company launches CCS operations at Kansas ethanol plant

US agricultural processing company Purefield Ingredients (Purefield) has commissioned a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) facility with capacity to capture 150,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year in Russell, Kansas.

Purefield’s CCS facility is part of its integrated food ingredients and advanced biofuels platform and is expected to strengthen its competitiveness in the US low-carbon fuel market.

It converts wheat into functional food ingredients on-site. The residual wheat starch is then fermented to produce ethanol and an animal feed co-product.

The high-purity CO2 stream generated through these fermentation processes will be captured and transported via a dedicated pipeline for permanent geological sequestration.

PureField has also started the planning process for an expansion to double both its ethanol production and carbon sequestration capacity.

In April, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved Purefield’s application to geologically sequester CO2 from its Russell operations at its Class VI injection well located six miles away.

Aaron Buettner, CEO of Purefield, said, “It lays the foundation for PureField’s next phase of growth – one that will strengthen demand for Kansas wheat [and will] support American manufacturing.”