Supagas seeks to build carbon dioxide plant

PLANS have been lodged seeking to develop a carbon dioxide plant on Kiandool Lane near Narrabri.

The proposed facility would connect to the adjacent existing Wilga Park power station.

Supagas Pty Ltd, one of the nation’s leading suppliers of gases, wants the facility to capture and process exhaust gas from gas generators within the Santos-owned power station.

The developer anticipates the project would generate employment of 20 personnel on average during construction, peaking at 30 personnel.

Construction personnel would be sourced from the local Narrabri community where possible, plans state.

Should non-local or specialist personnel be required, the existing Civeo facility in Narrabri will be utilised for accommodation.

Once complete and operational, two full-time employees would be required with up to two additional staff during scheduled maintenance activities.

Operational employees would also be sourced from the community where possible.

If the development goes ahead, Supagas anticipates a construction timeline of up to 15 months.

“The project will produce approximately 72 tonnes per day of high purity, liquid CO2, with allowance for storage of approximately 800 tonnes prior to transport off-site,” the environmental impact statement currently on display through the NSW Planning Portal says.

“Australia currently has a shortage of locally produced high purity CO2 and currently imports CO2 from sources in Asia to meet its increasing demands.

“Gas produced from the combustion of natural gas largely contains CO2, which is typically discharged to the atmosphere as a waste stream.

“In its current arrangement, exhaust gas from the WPPS [Wilga Park power station] is discharged to the atmosphere via exhaust stacks.

“The project proposes the construction and operation of a CO2 plant to recover exhaust gas from natural gas combustion and produce a high purity (i.e. up to 99.9 per cent pure) CO2 product for transport to Australian markets.”

The application states key uses of CO2 in the Australian market includes food and beverage carbonation, freezing and chilling, welding and metal fabrication, chemical production, fire extinguishers, agriculture, and medical uses.

“The recovery of the CO2 from the WPPS waste stream, which would otherwise have been discharged directly into the atmosphere, is an economically viable source of CO2,” plans state.

“The project shows a commitment by Supagas to provide Australian CO2 customers with a secure and reliable local supply of high purity CO2, thereby reducing Australia’s reliance on imported products.”

Plans also state the project will be operated via a fully automated distributed control system designed to provide reliable process control, continuous monitoring, and comprehensive safety management.

“The system integrates both hardware and software safeguards to ensure safe, efficient, and uninterrupted operation,” plans state.

In its application, Supagas anticipates the development would have a positive benefit by creating a new opportunity for ongoing investment in the region and enabling supply of products to a range of industries in the Australian market that would otherwise have been wasted.

The proposed development would also result in local environmental benefits by removing an estimated 72 tonnes per day of CO2 emissions from the operation of the WPPS, which would otherwise have been discharged directly into the local environment and atmosphere as a waste.

The development application is open for public consultation through the NSW Planning Portal until Monday 10 August.