Page 153 - CW E-Magazine (24-9-2024)

News from Abroad

based feedstocks, including sugars, cellu- Mr. Antonio Queiroz, Vice President
lose, plant oils, and lignin, to sustainable of Innovation, Technology, and Sustaina-
chemicals and materials. ble Development at Braskem, stated, “We
are excited for the offi cial opening of our
“Braskem has a strong ambition to be Renewable Innovation Centre, which
a key player in carbon capturing through expands Braskem’s global innovation &
the production of materials with renewa- technology footprint to seven centres
ble raw materials. This innovation centre dedicated to R&D. The launch of the
even better positions Braskem to forge centre will foster the development of new
solutions that meet the needs of today novation ecosystem, located within a sustainable solutions for chemicals and
and the future,” stated Mr. Mark Niko- one-hour drive of more than 60 univer- plastics. We are increasing investments,
lich, CEO of Braskem America. sities and colleges. Work at the centre dedicating resources, and attracting great
will complement Braskem’s global R&D minds to help us meet our ambitions
The centre is strategically based in work currently being conducted in the to create a more sustainable future for
Greater Boston’s biotechnology and in- US, Brazil, Mexico, and Germany. everyone.”

CLOSED CARBON CYCLES
Wacker completes pilot testing of CO capture
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from silicon production process

German chemicals fi rm, Wacker, Pilot test results
said it has successfully captured carbon For the fi rst time, Wacker has
dioxide (CO ) generated from silicon demonstrated the amine scrubbing
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production. method for removing carbon dioxide in
one of its own processes. The pilot test
The project, which was enabled campaign, which was successfully con-
by the technology and expertise of the cluded in late June, achieved capture
SLB and Aker Carbon Capture joint rates of over 95%.
venture (SLB-ACC jv), involved a pilot
test of the capture process at Wacker’s The project team also thoroughly
production site in Holla, Norway, production plant in Holla produces this studied and validated the process para-
where quartz and carbon are combined important raw material, which serves as meters, delivering important informa-
to produce silicon for use in its silicone the basis for microchips, solar modules tion needed for large-scale implemen-
products. This reaction generates a con- and the full range of silicones. tation. At the same time, Wacker and
siderable share of the CO emissions SLB-ACC jv conducted an engineer-
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relevant to WACKER and its products. SLB ACC jv’s mobile test unit ing feasibility study as well, which
(MTU) was installed at Wacker’s involved drafting a design for a plant
The newly tested capture process site in Holla. The MTU is a complete that would capture 180,000 metric tons
makes it possible to reuse or store this CO capture plant on a small scale. of CO annually. These calculations
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greenhouse gas and prevent its release The waste gas generated from silicon have now been supplemented with the
into the atmosphere – a critical step on production was piped directly into the data obtained in actual practice.
the road to net-zero chemicals produc- pilot plant, where carbon dioxide was
tion. captured via a chemical process known “The results of the pilot study are
as amine scrubbing. This makes use of a huge success for us. We have shown
Norway-based SLB-ACC jv specia- an amine-containing solvent that selec- that this technology makes it possible to
lises in capturing CO from fl ue gases tively extracts CO from the gas mix- remove CO effectively,” said Wacker’s
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from large-scale industrial processes, ture. In large-scale industrial processes, CEO Mr. Christian Hartel.
including unavoidable CO such as the CO is then released from the sol-
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that generated in the production of vent by desorption before it is cooled, Capturing carbon dioxide prevents
metallurgical-grade silicon. Wacker’s condensed under pressure and purifi ed. its release into the atmosphere as a
Chemical Weekly September 24, 2024 153

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