Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical starts up pilot CO2-to-methanol facility

MRC -- Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical has brought on stream a pilot facility for producing methanol from carbon dioxide (CO2) at its manufacturing complex in Ehime prefecture, said the company.

“The company aims to complete the demonstration of this technology by 2028, as well as start commercial production using the new process and license the technology to other companies in the 2030s”, the Japanese producer said in a statement on Tuesday.

Details on investments and capacity of the plant built at Ehime Works in Niihama City were not disclosed. The pilot plant will use CO2 to produce methanol - one of the carbon capture and utilization (CCU) processes being adopted by Sumitomo to achieve a circular economy.

Sumitomo Chemical said that it was able to resolve issues with conventional CO2-to-methanol conversion by leveraging on the internal condensation reactor (ICR) being developed by Japanese professor Koji Omata of Shimane University.

The issues are low yield and catalyst degradation caused by byproduct water, it said. The ICR enables the condensation and separation of methanol and water within the reactor, which is impossible with conventional technologies.

This helps to improve yield, downsize equipment, and achieve higher energy efficiency, while it is also expected to prevent catalyst degradation, Sumitomo said. The C02-to-methanol demo plant was built with the support of Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) Green Innovation (GI) Fund, it said.

We remind, Sumitomo Chemical has decided to close down its production facilities for cyclohexanone (also known as anone) at its Ehime Works located in Niihama City, Ehime, Japan and exit the business, said the company.
The closure of the production facilities is scheduled for the end of March 2024.

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MRC -- Covestro is investing a mid to high double-digit million euro amount in the modernization of its production plant in Dormagen by 2025, said the company.

The plant was commissioned in early 2015 and is considered one of the most advanced TDI production facilities in the world due to the use of the gas phase technology developed by Covestro. The work will include the installation of a modern reactor that will enable the reaction energy to be used for energy-efficient steam generation in the future.

The modernisation will significantly improve the plant's energy efficiency and thereby reduce CO2 emissions. After the modernization, the plant will consume up to 80 percent less energy than conventional processes for the production of TDI, and greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by a further 22,000 tons per year. This not only makes a significant contribution to achieving the company's climate targets and safeguarding European TDI production in the face of sharply increased energy costs, but also improves the sustainability performance of the customer industries. The first phase of the project has now been successfully completed with the lifting of the equipment into the plant. All further measures will be implemented gradually until spring 2025. This will ensure a continuous supply of TDI to customers.

"We want to continue to grow in Germany and drive forward the transformation to climate-neutral production. Nevertheless, the general conditions, especially the high energy prices, are making it increasingly difficult for us to make such investments," says Dr. Thorsten Dreier, Member of the Board of Management and Chief Technology Officer at Covestro. "Policy-makers must finally take effective measures to restore Germany's competitiveness in terms of energy prices and ensure a reliable basis for the climate-neutral transformation of industry."

We remind, Covestro and Chinese premium electric vehicle brand HiPhi unveiled a joint laboratory at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) to advance low-carbon footprint material solutions and smart technologies for future mobility.

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Solvay SA/NV held its Extraordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting in Brussels with record shareholder participation, said the company.

All proposed resolutions were massively approved by shareholders, including the company’s partial demerger. With this clear and positive outcome, the separation of Solvay into two independent companies, the new Solvay and Syensqo, is now confirmed and will be effective at midnight.

Nicolas Boel, Chairman of the Board, highlighted the historical decision made at the meeting today: “This moment marks the culmination of the profound re-organisation that Solvay has undergone in recent years under the leadership of CEO Dr. Ilham Kadri. This transformational project of creating two new industry champions, which we began 18 months ago, has been possible due to the tremendous efforts and commitment of our teams who have consistently delivered strong results for our stakeholders. Importantly, both companies begin their independent journeys with strong balance sheets which will support their future growth. In a world of perpetual change, the status quo is never an option. As the G.R.O.W strategy delivered on its targets ahead of schedule, the Board took the bold step to initiate the next stage of Solvay’s transformation in its 160-year journey. The creation of two independent companies will unlock further value to our stakeholders. It will sharpen our strategic focus, bring new growth opportunities, allow us to allocate capital more efficiently, and build even stronger foundations for the future.”

We remind, Solvay SA/NV (“Solvay”) published a supplement to its information document, dated June 30, 2023, in connection with the previously announced planned separation of Solvay into two independent listed companies – SOLVAY and SYENSQO – by way of a partial demerger of Solvay.

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On December 7, 2023, according to an announcement from the State Intellectual Property Office of China, Wanhua Chemical Group Co., Ltd. applied for a project called "a silicone polymer, preparation method and application in release agent.", said Echemi.

Publication number CN117164861A, application date is September 2023. The patent abstract shows that the present invention discloses a silicone polymer, a preparation method and its application in a release agent. The preparation method of the silicone polymer includes the following steps:

1) Add tetravinyltetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane dropwise into tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane, and a hydrosilylation reaction occurs under the action of catalysis to obtain an organic silicon intermediate;

2) Add the organic silicon intermediate dropwise to the vinyl-terminated polyorganosiloxane, and a hydrosilylation reaction will occur under the action of catalysis to obtain an organic silicon polymer.

The release agent prepared according to the silicone polymer in the present invention has the characteristics of good curing performance, good sliding property, stable aging release force, high residual adhesion rate, good anti-fogging property and excellent anti-sticking property.

As a chemical giant, Wanhua Chemical’s current silicone-related products mainly include the following series.

We remind, On December 1, Wanhua Chemical’s official website released a draft environmental impact report for the project. The company will build a new 400,000 tons/year polyolefin elastomer device and supporting public auxiliary projects and auxiliary facilities in Penglai Chemical Industrial Park Wanhua Penglai Industrial Park.

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Canada unveiled planned regulations to limit emissions from the oil and gas sector using a cap-and-trade system, fulfilling a promise by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government to cut emissions in its most polluting sector, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Here are details on the proposed regulations: Cap-and-trade is a market-based system where the regulator limits emissions and issues emissions allowances that producers can use if they exceed the cap. The government proposes to cap 2030 emissions at 35% to 38% below 2019 levels, or at 106 to 112 megatons compared with 171 megatons in 2019, while providing compliance flexibilities - or allowances - to emit up to a level about 20% of 23% below 2019 levels, or up to 131 to 137 megatons.

In 2021, the oil and gas sector was the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for 28% of total national emissions with 189 megatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2 eq) emitted, according to official data. In 2021, the sector's GHG emissions were 3% higher than in 2020. Over the period from 1990 to 2021, the sector's GHG emissions increased by 88%.

Each emission allowance would be equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Emission allowances issued under the cap-and-trade regulations would not be fungible with other carbon pricing systems or regulatory instruments. Allowances will initially be free.

We remind, Maersk is about to launch the first of its 18 large methanol-enabled vessels currently on order. On 9 February 2024, it will enter service on the AE7 string connecting Asia and Europe, which includes port calls in Shanghai, Tanjung Pelepas, Colombo and Hamburg (see all port calls in the fact box below), with Ningbo, China, being its first destination.

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