Asahi Kasei to produce acrylonitrile using biomass-derived raw material

Category: General

Country: United States

Asahi Kasei to produce acrylonitrile using biomass-derived raw material – Sub-sidiary Tongsuh Petrochemical becomes the first acrylonitrile manufacturer in Asia to acquire ISCC PLUS certification

Asahi Kasei Europe GmbH | January 25, 2022

Düsseldorf, January 25, 2022 – Asahi Kasei announces that on October 21, 2021, Tong-suh Petrochemical Corp., Ltd. (TSPC), a wholly owned subsidiary in South Korea, ac-quired the widely recognized international certification ISCC PLUS for its acrylonitrile (AN) as a sustainable product, and production of AN using biomass propylene is sched-uled to begin in February 2022.

AN is used as a raw material to make ABS resin, acrylamide, acrylic fiber, and various other chemical products. Recent demand growth has been particularly robust in the applications of carbon fiber as a material to reduce the weight of wind turbine blades, etc., and nitrile rubber for medical gloves whose use is expanding due to heightened awareness for hygiene.

Propylene is one of the most important chemical intermediates in organic chemistry. It is generated during the thermal cracking of hydrocarbons and can be produced also by bioethanol from biomass fermentation processes. Biomass means plant or animal materials that can be used to produce bio-energy. These are usually wastes from agriculture, private households, industry or forestry. Food crops such as rapeseed, corn, wheat, sugar beet or sunflowers are also used as raw materials.

ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) is an international certification system that offers solutions for the implementation and certification of waste and residue raw materials, non-bio renewables and recycled carbon materials and fuels. ISCC PLUS is a certification system that covers mainly bio-based carbon materials which are produced outside the EU and supplied globally, and to manage and ensure sustainable raw materials in the supply chain.

In order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, measures to reduce CO2 emissions throughout the product chain of fossil fuel-derivatives are gaining momentum, and AN customers are increasingly seeking to manufacture products using AN with low CO2 emissions in order to contribute to GHG reduction. Under these circumstances, Asahi Kasei and TSPC sought to reduce CO2 emissions across the AN supply chain, and in October 2021, TSPC became the first AN manufacturer in Asia to acquire ISCC PLUS certification.

The certification system enables TSPC to produce and sell AN using biomass raw material allocated by the mass-balance method. TSPC is scheduled to begin producing AN using biomass propylene in February 2022. In the case of a mixture of biomass raw materials, etc., and fossil fuel-derived raw materials in the production process, the portion of biomass product, etc., produced is assigned to certain products (biomass AN) based on ISCC PLUS System Documents and its recognized man-agement methods.

In order to contribute to society’s carbon neutrality, the Asahi Kasei Group will continue efforts to further reduce CO2 emissions by improving the AN catalysts and processes based on original tech-nologies as well as the procurement of biomass raw material, aiming to be a global sustainable partner for its customers.

About the Asahi Kasei Corporation
Asahi Kasei Corporation is a globally active diversified technology company with operations in the Material, Homes, and Health Care business. The Material division encompasses fibers & textiles, petrochemicals, performance polymers, performance materials, consumables, battery separators, and electronic devices. The Homes division provides housing and construction materials to the Jap-anese market. The Health Care division includes pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and acute criti-cal care devices and systems. With more than 44,000 employees around the world, the Asahi Kasei Group serves customers in more than 100 countries and achieved sales of 17.3 billion euros (2,106 billion yen) in the fiscal year 2019 (April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021).

Asahi Kasei is “Creating for Tomorrow” with all operations sharing a common mission of contributing to life and living for people around the world. For more information, visit
www.asahi-kasei.eu, www.asahi-kasei.com and https://www.asahi-kasei.com/sustainability/.

Company Contact Europe: Asahi Kasei Europe GmbH Sebastian Schmidt Fringsstrasse 17, 40221 Düsseldorf Tel: +49 (0) 211-3399-2058 Mail: Sebastian.Schmidt@asahi-kasei.eu
Company Contact North America:
Asahi Kasei America
Jonathan Todd
Mail: aka-info@ak-america.com