Frequently Asked Questions - Airborne

See the glossary for definitions of terms.

1. Who is Airborne and what is its history?
2. The power generation utility business has been historically slow to change; will Airborne be able to penetrate this market?
3. How much risk is there in the technology performing as expected?
4. Will the production of fertilizer from Airborne facilities impact the fertilizer market?
   
5. What differentiates Airborne's fertilizer technology from existing technologies?
   
6. The Airborne Process™ requires a significant capital investment. Will customers accept this level of investment in pollution abatement?
7. Can the Airborne Process™ be successfully scaled from the demo size to full commercial?
8. The pollution abatement market for coal-fired plants is very large and must have attracted a number of competitors. Who is Airborne's competition and why is the Airborne Process™ superior?
9. What are the advantages of the Airborne Process™ over competitive processes?
10. If this process works as expected, will others enter the market?
11. What impact will hydrogen fuel cells have on conventional coal-fired electrical power generation?
12. Is natural gas electrical power generation going to push coal fired generators out of the market?
13. What is sodium bicarbonate and what are its uses?
14. What is sodium sulfate and what are its uses?
    
15. What is the problem related to sodium sulfate disposal?
16. How does Airborne's method of manufacturing sodium bicarbonate differ from other manufacturers?

Who is Airborne and what is its history?

The predecessor to Airborne was formed in January 1995 when one of its co-founders learned of a technology using baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to remove pollutants from industrial gases being emitted to the atmosphere. The limitation of sodium bicarbonate technology was the high cost of the sodium bicarbonate and the disposal of the resulting sodium sulfate by-product. The co-founders discovered that an International producer of sodium sulfate who mined, purified and sold the product from the large lakebed deposits in the province of Saskatchewan was conducting research to convert sodium sulfate to sodium bicarbonate. The Airborne Process™ was born as the idea of combining the technologies:

i) sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide are removed from gas streams by sodium bicarbonate resulting in the formation of sodium sulfate/nitrate

ii) sodium sulfate/nitrate is converted back to sodium bicarbonate with a profitable sulfate/nitrate fertilizer byproduct.

Ormiston Mining and Smelting Company; the sodium sulfate plant where the research was being done; was purchased, and during the ensuing 11 years, over $50 million of research and development expenditures were incurred to develop and refine this revolutionary technology. Airborne Clean Energy was incorporated in 2004, to commercialize and market the technology in North America.

The power generation Utility business has been historically slow to change; will Airborne be able to penetrate this market?

YES, Utilities are required by government to reduce emissions. The existing cleaning processes are not completely effective and they have large capital and operating costs. Following a successful demonstration of the Airborne Process™ process at the Ghent generating station in Kentucky, Airborne partner Peabody Energy is anxious to go forward with the implementation of Airborne's first commercial facility, a proposed 331MW power station know as the Mustang Project in New Mexico.

How much risk is there in the technology performing as expected?

The Airborne Process™ consists of three steps which have been already proven. The sodium scrubbing step was proven with six commercial facilities having been installed. The regeneration step was originally proven in Ormiston, Saskatchewan, producing up to 20 tons per day of product, and recently modernized at the Ghent demonstration plant. The final step, fertilizer granulation has been commercially demonstrated and is employed in a commercial scale facility. The proposed Mustang Project plant will showcase the integration of these three proven steps in a full commercial setting.

Will the production of fertilizer from Airborne facilities negatively impact the fertilizer market?

The Airborne Process™ allows for the production of a variety of existing and new fertilizer products that will minimize market impact. The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan is the world's largest producer of fertilizer and they have indicated that the fertilizers produced through the Airborne Process™ are entirely complementary to the types of fertilizers they currently sell and have signed an agreement with Airborne to market the fertilizer produced through the Airborne Process™. Overall, the fertilizer industry is a global business with a large and growing market. With our most optimistic forecast of fourteen Airborne facilities, our impact on the fertilizer market from fertilizer generated from these facilities will be less than 1% of the nitrogen market and less than 2% of the sulphur market in a market that grows an average of 2-4% annually

What differentiates Airborne's fertilizer technology from existing technology?

The differentiation lies in the manner in which the fertilizer pellet is formed and the positive impact this has on the cost and quality of the granule produced. Current technology uses a costly compaction method or agglomeration process. Airborne's technology uses a more economical pan granulation approach to consistently produce a uniform, round, hard and durable pellet using less energy, less binder with considerably more product on spec reducing the recycle requirements.

The Airborne Process™ requires a significant capital investment. Will customers accept this level of investment in pollution abatement?

YES, any of the competing abatement processes require similar or higher levels of capital and they incur significant annual operating costs. Utilities are used to investing these levels of capital in pollution control. As a consequence of the production and sale of a high quality fertilizer, Airborne is able to offer the sodium bicarbonate sorbent at attractive prices, allowing its clients a considerable amount of annual cost savings.

Can the Airborne Process™ be successfully scaled from 5MW to a full commercial installation?

YES, all three steps of the Airborne Process™ have been successful in commercial applications:

1. Sodium bicarbonate scrubbing has been done at full commercial scale;
2. Airborne has successfully regenerated up to 20 tons per day. Commercial applications in similar duties of all the various equipment components are in operation around the world at over 10 times the size of Mustang Project;
3. Pan granulation has been proven in a commercial facility.
   

The pollution abatement market for coal-fired plants is very large and must have attracted a number of competitors. Who is Airborne's competition and why is the Airborne Process™ superior?

Airborne has studied in excess of 35 competing technologies for pollution abatement and has found no rival for Airborne's multi-pollutant cleaning capabilities and economics. Some 85% of existing cleaning systems use limestone scrubbing for SO_X removal and an SCR for NO_X removal. The Airborne Process™ has been compared to each of these technologies and has proven to be far superior. The scrubbing performance of the Airborne system exceeds 99% for each of the major pollutants, no other technology can make this claim.

What are the advantages the Airborne Process™ over competitive processes?

Airborne's scrubbing system is superior to any technology on the market. Additionally, Airborne's regeneration process has considerably lower costs and offers a multi-pollutant cleaning solution with one system. In short, higher scrubbing efficiency and lower annual costs make the Airborne Process™ the solution of choice.

If this process works as expected, will others enter the market?

All three components of the Airborne Process™ are protected by international patents, or patents pending. Airborne owns, or retains exclusive rights to utilize these technologies in North America. Significant improvements to the technology have been developed in recent years, and international patent protection has been applied for.

Other companies have researched the technology for converting sodium sulfate to sodium bicarbonate by using ammonia and carbon dioxide but they have been stymied in their efforts due to chemical reaction completion. Due to Airborne's extensive research efforts, procedures have been developed and patented to shift this reaction completion efficiency providing the basis for an economically viable process.

What impact will hydrogen fuel cells have on conventional coal-fired electrical power generation?

NONE, hydrogen fuel cells require hydrogen which is produced using electricity. At present, only nuclear energy has the ability to replace fossil fuels but the social and environmental liabilities make this impractical.

Is natural gas electrical power generation going to push coal fired generators out of the market?

NO, while natural gas fired electrical generation has increased; it represents less than 15% of the electricity generated in North America. Furthermore, natural gas reserves are incapable of challenging coal's dominant market position in North America and throughout the world. Additionally, the price of natural gas makes electrical generation costs very high.

What is sodium bicarbonate and what are its uses?

Sodium bicarbonate, commonly called baking soda, is a white crystalline powder not commonly found in nature but generally manufactured from other sodium based materials. It is composed of sodium, hydrogen, carbon and oxygen molecules represented by the formula NaHCO₃. In the last century, sodium bicarbonate has been manufactured by adding carbon dioxide gas to sodium carbonate. Sodium carbonate has been manufactured using lime and salt or from the natural deposits of Trona found in Wyoming. The two leaders in sodium bicarbonate production are Church & Dwight (Arm & Hammer and Cow Brand), and Belgium based Solvay. Sodium bicarbonate is commonly used in baking, deodorizing, fire suppression, animal feed supplements and household/industrial cleaners.

What is sodium sulfate and what are its uses?

Sodium sulfate is a common chemical that exists in nature in dry deposits and semi-dry lakebeds. It is composed of sodium, sulfur and oxygen molecules represented by the formula Na₂SO₄. In its refined state, it is a white crystalline powder. Deposits of sodium sulfate result from thousands of years of accumulation of salts leached by run-off water, which becomes trapped in low elevations. The water evaporates, leaving the resultant residue or salt behind. Sodium sulfate has been historically used as an additive in detergents, in the fabrication of glass and in the pulp and paper industry but its market is being reduced as environmental regulations limit its use.

What is the problem related to sodium sulfate disposal?

Sodium sulfate is soluble in water and since it can leach into the surrounding environment there are a number of issues regarding its containment and subsequent disposal.

How does Airborne's method of manufacturing sodium bicarbonate differ from other manufacturers?

Airborne's raw material is sodium sulfate, a byproduct from a facility using sodium bicarbonate to capture sulfur dioxide from its exit gases. The sodium sulfate is reacted with ammonia and carbon dioxide in a chemical reaction to form sodium bicarbonate with a fertilizer co-product. Other producers of sodium bicarbonate use sodium carbonate as the basic raw material and react it with carbon dioxide to produce sodium bicarbonate.