Asahi Kasei plans biomass generator to supply petchems

01 April 2009 14:05  [Source: ICIS news]

TOKYO (ICIS news)--Japanese chemical producer Asahi Kasei Chemicals plans to build a new generator which uses woodchip biomass at its Nobeoka power plant, shifting from oil-based fuels to renewables, the company said on Wednesday.

The new facility, to be built at the No 2 heat power station at the company’s Nobeoka energy plant in Miyazaki prefecture, would be fueled by over 60%, or 100,000 tonnes/year, of woodchip biomass and about 40% coal, the company said.

The generator would generate 14,000 kilowatts/year of electricity and 80 tonnes/h of steam to supply to the group's petrochemical plants, the producer added.

Construction of the generator is scheduled begin in October 2010 and operations are expected to start in July 2012, according to the company.

The new facility was expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 170,000 tonnes/year, or 15% of the amount at the entire Nobeoka energy plant, the producer said.

Asahi Kasei Chemicals is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Asahi Kasei. It produces monomers such as acrylonitrile (ACN) and methyl methacrylate (MMA), and polymers including acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polyacetal (POM) resins.

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By: Tomomi Yokomura
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