History - Calix Technology

In 2005, Calix acquired the intellectual property rights to manufacture Flash Calciners as well as the downstream materials processed from this technology. The inventor of the calciner at the centre of this technology known as the 'Horley Flash Calciner' was the late Connor Horley. Very sadly Connor Horley passed away in late 2008.

The technology was developed to calcine lime, dolomite or magnesite (known as metal carbonate minerals) into their respective oxides such as lime, dolomite and magnesia in a process which is far more efficient than traditional calcining. The competitive advantages associated with the Calix Flash Calcining methods include:

• the unique reactivity of the product,
• a lower capital cost for the necessary processing plant,
• lower cost of product produced.

During 2007, 2008 and 2009 Calix raised funds from sophisticated investors in Australia and Europe. Those funds were primarily used to protect the company's extensive intellectual property portfolio which is comprised of 7 patent families. The patents cover:

• active oxide materials,
• the processes for producing active oxides,
• the application of active oxides to fertilizers, building materials and carbon capture, and,
• carbon capture (Endex) reactors and post-combustion carbon capture systems.

The funds were also used to further develop a small demonstration Flash Calcining plant in Queensland. The plant became operational in December 2007 and produces samples of various calcined products to demonstrate the caliber of the company's technology and products.

So what is different and special about the Horley Flash Calciner and the metal oxides it produces?

The inventor Connor Horley, found that if the fine dolomite particles (as against the small rocks used in traditional calcining) of the feedstock were dropped down a tall vertical tube, full of superheated steam, while being heated to the 400°C, not only did they convert to the oxides within the 3 second dropping time but each particle had a unique physical structure due to the steam exploding the particles as they calcined. The normal shape of a lime particle under a microscope is like an irregularly-shaped marble but the shape emerging from the Flash Calciner is that of a sponge and one kilogram of product has a surface area in excess of 100,000 square metres.

The characteristic of any metal oxide is they have the ability to bind with most materials fairly easily. Thus a mixture of Portland cement and sand and/or gravel, when mixed with water produces concrete. A similar mixture made with the 'active' (sponge) semidolime binds so well that the Calix product sets to the same strength as normal concrete in 20 minutes and continues to strengthen in a day or so - to about 3 times the strength of standard concrete.

In addition, the products made from Semidolime retain the CO₂ bound to Calcium as CaCO₃. This lowers the production cost so the product has a very low embedded energy. The CO₂ released from the MgCO₃ calcination is captured as a pure gas stream, which can be sequestered to eliminate the emissions, and the CO₂ produced from the combustion process can be scrubbed by using <3% of the product stream. This combination of features is unique, and the products have a very low carbon footprint, being at least an order of magnitude less than that of cement.

CO₂ is produced in a reversible reaction so if the active lime is in the presence of CO₂, say from flue gases, then it can be reabsorbed easily. When converted back to limestone it can then be recycled through the Calciner and the exhaust CO₂ collected, compressed and disposed of safely through any sequestration process. This is the classic 'Carbon Capture Process' and Calix is leading this technology against its world competitors.

Calix is a technology commercialisation company which exploits the three product families which cover catalytic flash calciners, carbon capture systems and products based on activated oxides.