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Background: In the 1990s, Dietrich Gross, Chairman and CEO of Jupiter Aluminum Corp., an aluminum recycling and manufacturing business, was concerned about furnace efficiency, the rising cost of fossil fuel and environmental issues inherent with the operation of melting furnaces. He initiated the use of pure oxygen instead of air for combustion in the natural gas aluminum furnaces. This resulted in extensive experimentation with the use of oxygen in industrial melting furnaces. The knowledge gained, combined with the day-to-day operation using this oxy-fuel process, led to a new method for advanced combustion technology and burner systems. Jupiter Oxygen’s oxy-fuel combustion technology is a patented process for the combustion of fossil fuels with pure oxygen while excluding air, using an undiluted high flame temperature but keeping the same process temperatures so that, for aluminum recycling furnaces, existing furnace materials can be used and the same melting temperatures are maintained. To develop, establish and promote Jupiter’s technology, Mr. Gross founded Jupiter Oxygen Corp. in 2001 and patented the technology in the U.S. and worldwide. The private R&D program has required costs of over 15 million dollars. Results: This oxy-fuel technology has been in every day use at Jupiter Aluminum since 1997. Jupiter’s energy efficient combustion process has allowed the aluminum company to operate at a substantially lower cost due to a dramatic fuel decrease, i.e., natural gas fuel reduction up to 73%, oil fuel usage reduction up to 68%, equivalent reduction of CO2 due to fuel savings and virtually zero NOx. Energy Efficiency Standards & Best Practice Technology Potential: Data for the U.S. document a 60% “energy efficiency savings opportunity” per pound aluminum re-melted [SECAT, 2004 ]. In fact, Jupiter’s oxy-fuel technology has been achieving this projection since 1997. For example, for an aluminum re-melting facility with a production of 550,000 tons of aluminum per year [approximately 5% of the U.S. market] the fuel savings from Jupiter’s oxy-fuel technology implementation can achieve net energy savings up to 1,365,000 MMBtu annually . These net fuel savings translate into $7,500,000 cost savings and up to 75,000 tons of CO2 avoided annually for that facility! Further Development: Encouraged by the favorable results from Jupiter’s technology implementation in industrial furnaces, this oxy-fuel technology now is being applied to fossil fuel steam generators and power plants, focusing on energy efficiency and emissions reduction. This has been done in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy and its National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) . In March 2004, Jupiter Oxygen’s technology was certified by Canada’s Environmental Technology Verification Program . In November 2004, Jupiter Oxygen Corp. together with the NETL successfully did R&D on a clean coal technology, testing Jupiter’s oxy-fuel combustion process and NETL’s Integrated Pollutant Removal System. In September 2006 Jupiter Oxygen Corp announced the world’s first oxy-fuel clean coal retrofit starting in the US . This technology approach is important for a cost effective method to capture carbon and the true practical and affordable approach to retrofit the existing coal power plant fleet in the U.S. and worldwide! March 6, 2007, Jupiter testified before the House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality for Carbon Capture and Storage technologies. International Activities: Jupiter Oxygen executives have actively promoted the cause of energy efficiency through the Alliance to Save Energy and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy. They did so as NGO delegates at UNFCCC conferences as well as participants at the Asia-Pacific Partnership meetings, presenting industry solutions. Jupiter Oxygen is an active participant of the ASE eeGlobal 2007 conference. Jupiter is considering a membership of the IEA Greenhouse Gas R&D Programme, and is already active participating in their international oxy-fuel network . In 2007 Jupiter’s technology will be presented at high level conferences, such as: 1. Platts 3rd Annual IGCC Symposium in Pittsburg, PA, May, 10 to 11 Breakthrough Achievements: With the recent acceleration of U.S. activities to prepare mandatory GHG legislation and initiatives such as USCAP, as well as with the worldwide recognition of the GHG problematic [Stern report; IPCC new report 2007] Jupiter Oxygen’s technology is receiving considerable interest from aluminum companies, aluminum associations and utilities, domestic and worldwide. Jupiter Oxygen is leading the engineering work of several real scale applications of oxy-fuel technology implementation in power plants, and working closely on energy efficient and economic strategies with international operating aluminum companies that consider Jupiter’s oxy-fuel technology for implementation in their U.S. facilities, as well as abroad.
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