The Finnish Climate Fund has decided on a EUR 4 million to scale up Filtrabit’s industrial dust extraction system

Heavy industrial processes produce not only emissions but also dust-containing gas streams, which are released into the air due to the difficulty of filtering them. In addition, it is often impossible to utilise the energy contained in hot gases because of the dust in the gas streams. If left unrecovered, these dust particles pollute the air, damage the environment and cause health risks to humans.

Based on an innovative dust separation technology, Filtrabit’s extraction system effectively purifies industrial gas streams, even in applications for which this process was previously difficult or even impossible. The recovered dust contains valuable raw materials, which can be used in industrial manufacturing processes, reducing the use of virgin materials. In the future, the solution’s potential to reduce emissions may be multiplied several times over through the utilisation of purified waste heat.

“We offer flow dynamics based dust management solutions as a service to industrial customers. Our service model is based on a monthly billing cycle, allowing us to upgrade existing dust recovery systems to meet modern standards in a cost-effective manner while avoiding expensive new investments. We process dust-containing industrial air emissions into breathable air and recover the valuable raw materials. In the future we will also recover waste heat. Our solution removes harmful particulates from the air we breathe and helps companies achieve considerable CO₂ savings in terms of raw materials. In the future, the positive climate impacts will continue to increase as the product portfolio and range of suitable applications grow,” Karri Kaitue, the chair of Filtrabit’s board, explains.

“Heavy industries are gradually moving towards low-carbon and emission-free production. Filtrabit’s extraction solution makes it possible to achieve important emissions reductions during this transition period in sectors for which completely clean solutions are still many years away,” Toni Mikkonen, the Climate Fund’s acting CEO, explains.

Filtrabit’s solution

Founded in 2011, Filtrabit is a Finnish company that has developed a modular dust extraction system for industrial processes. The system is based on a flow dynamics extraction method. In the steel industry, for instance, the extraction system can recover significant quantities of coke-containing dust from which valuable raw materials can be extracted. Reusing the recovered dust reduces the need to process coal into coke and thereby limits emissions.

Filtrabit’s extraction system has been successful in the coke oven of the SSAB Raahe steel plant. Filtrabit aims to develop a next-generation extraction unit with an increased capacity, making it ideal for applications such as heat recovery and enabling considerably greater emissions reductions. Future applications of the next-generation extraction unit could also allow for carbon dioxide recovery in addition to the extraction of hot gases.

Filtrabit’s current emissions reduction potential is based on the recovery and utilisation of coke dust as an alternative to using virgin raw materials. The estimated emissions reduction potential of one extraction unit is approximately 200 t CO₂-eq per year. The company’s cumulative emissions reduction potential is estimated to be approximately 128 kt CO₂-eq over a period of ten years. In the future, the recovery of heat from industrial processes and possibly carbon dioxide would dramatically increase the emissions reduction potential of the extraction technology.

The capital loan of up to EUR 4 million by the Finnish Climate Fund has been allocated to raise working capital for the manufacture of extraction devices. The capital loan includes a conversion right and emission reduction incentive. The funding is targeted at industrial applications with heavy pollution loads or at applications with significant potential for emissions reduction. The service model will enable the rapid roll-out and scalability of the new technology on the market. Other necessary funding will be provided by the company’s owners and other lenders.

Filtrabit Oy offers flow dynamics-based dust control services to industrial clients. We transform dusty industrial air into cleaner breathable air. We reduce CO2 emissions by capturing raw materials, and in the future recovering waste heat.