Emerging and Promising Applications which Lead to Reducing CO2 Emissions – Driven in Part by the Locations of Production Plants

May 05, 2026

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by Sam A. Rushing (Advanced Cryogenics Ltd./Biofuels Digest) Despite recent announcements whereby the EPA will no longer consider CO2 a hazardous gas; the end result from this is devastating to the environment, our economy, and our lives. On the other hand, whether or not this occurs, there remains a greater push to use more innovative solutions to use the product in industry, tomorrow’s plastics – thus replacing hydrocarbons, and the environmental harm which is evermore leading to the worst of climate change. Many efforts are underway to help reduce carbon emissions, and help our planet.

The CO2 industry expands organically, say 3% annually in some markets. The best way to grow more rapidly in the industry, is via the development and implementation of new and unique applications in a wide variety of markets. CO2 applications, of a traditional nature, are tried and true, such as many uses in food processing, beverage carbonation, and a range of industrial uses. On the other hand, new and green applications help sustain the industry.

As for new or newer applications for the product, most of these are of an industrial nature, generally outside of the food and beverage demands.

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THE APPLICATIONS

There have been a number of emerging technologies which are proposing the use of CO2 in the production of various plastic and building materials; some of which could replace hydrocarbons in plastics, which is a truly green usage. Further on this subject, the ultimate goal of successfully using CO2 from flue gas to produce useful products, along with sequestration would represent a double achievement. Some of the concepts below, could eventually yield true break throughs, when scaled up.

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Some new or conceptual applications are as follows.

Carbon nanotubes, via molten electrolysis, the process requires electric power for converting CO2 into carbon fibers, or nanotubes. Such nanofibers could be used in carbon composites. Such composite materials are light weight, alternatives to metal, to make a variety of products such as bicycles, one of which I have which is very light and rigid. Other products could be airplanes, and turbine wind blades. Such sources for the raw CO2 for this process, could ideally be flue gas from a power plant, or other such stream, like a cement kiln. The startup is staffed by university researchers, now under the name C2CNT.
Concrete dosing with CO2 is an outstanding way to create a form of sequestration, as well as strengthen the concrete via increasing the calcium carbonate content in the concrete. This is a relatively new application, now being used throughout the country, to a degree.
Bioplastics – nanoparticles for plastics and building materials such as coatings and concrete is a possible sink for CO2. In some cases, bioplastics have been developed among those in universities, where some technologies have moved to the field, and are looking to commercialize. One startup combines CO2 with by-product waste materials such as the products of coal and coke combustion, using fly ash, for example.
Another technology with a startup is bioplastics again, using flue gas as a CO2 feedstock; while microbes along with hydrogen and oxygen yield a biopolymer, which is a plastic material which can be used in the manufacture of many consumer goods and building materials. This licensed technology is a California based company under the name Newlight Technologies.
Methanol is the product of a team looking to develop an artificial photosynthesis process to convert CO2 into methanol. Of course methanol is a common solvent or industrial chemical, used as a fuel, and in a variety of personal and industrial products. Here is another example of a sequestered or converted CO2 into a useful common solvent. A team in India under the name Breathe is working on this process.
Chemicals and bio composite foam plastics. This is another take on recovered CO2 for the production of ethylene glycol, methanol, and foam based plastics. In this case, natural materials such as sawdust, wood, and rice hulls are the backbone for such products. The entity looking to produce such products is C4X, a Chinese company.
Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), using CO2 as a working fluid. Supercritical CO2 could be utilized in these systems as a circulating heat exchange fluid. In this case, using the density difference between cold CO2 flowing down the injection wells, and the hot CO2 traveling up these wells would eliminate a need for a circulating pump. Further, CO2 could be used as a working fluid in supercritical power cycles. This application works well with compact turbo machinery.
Polymer production, where CO2 could be used as a feedstock via transformation of CO2 into polycarbonates, using proprietary zinc catalysts.
Transformation of CO2 from power plant flue gas could be chemically transformed into industrial fuels and chemicals. Such a process which is under development, would use renewable electricity to reduce CO2 to CO. the carbon monoxide is a key product used in various industrial processes. The CO2 would be fed into catalytic reactors which chemically transform CO2 into fuels and chemicals which emit only oxygen. Some technologies like this are being developed by university researchers.
Then, in the era of rising emissions, and the great push to develop extraordinary data centers in the US and globally; would be the added emissions, heat, and power demand to feed these huge operations. The potential for CO2 as a cooling agent is possible within the data centers, as would be other cold liquids; and even more importantly, would be the potential and proven technology, whereby sCO2 (supercritical CO2) is used to either replace cooling water completely in power generation via turning turbines in the generation of power. I feel this is a means of achieving something special in an era of droughts, climate change, and water preservation.

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CO2 SOURCES – TRADITIONAL AND WHAT IS BEING DEVELOPED AND COULD BE AVAILABLE

The Summit Energy CO2 pipeline has not given up yet, which is a project slated to receive CO2 from about 50 ethanol plants in the Midwest, and send it to a location in North Dkota for sequestration. There have been complaints by landowners and local government officials, where they simply do not want this pipeline under their land. So, this pipeline may or may not become reality. If it does not, many ethanol plants will either continue to vent their CO2 byproduct stream; or try to monetize via the markets or sequestration-based credits.

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The nature of CO2 supply is highly driven by location, since the cost of freight to customers, and depots are so expensive, sometimes exceeding the cost of a viable liquid product. So, in the end, local – or closer to a production site is the most sought after by the gas companies and consumers. READ MORE