BASF advances carbon capture tech for Japan’s 2050 carbon neutrality goal

01 Mar 2023 --- BASF Japan has announced that HiPACT, a carbon capture technology developed by BASF and its engineering partner JGC Corporation, will be used by Inpex Corporation, touted as one of Japan’s largest production companies for clean hydrogen and ammonia in Kashiwazaki city.

HiPACT will be used for Inpex’s Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) project, where carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and compression costs are expected to be reduced by up to 35%. Meanwhile, it will also support clean energy production with reduced CO2 emissions.

“We are pleased to provide HiPACT for Japan’s first demonstration project to produce blue hydrogen and ammonia from domestic natural gas,” says Mami Kawakatsu, head of sales, Intermediates Division at BASF Japan. 

“The role of our gas-treating technologies is recognized in these milestone projects in Japan’s net zero roadmaps. We will continue to contribute to Japan’s 2050 carbon neutrality goal,” 

The project is funded by New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, a Japanese governmental organization.

High impact of HiPACT tech
BASF Japan explains that the HiPACT technology will be applied to capture and recover CO2 from a hydrogen production facility using domestic natural gas as feedstock. This is located in the Hirai area of Kashiwazaki city, Niigata prefecture.

The production facility is expected to start in 2025. “The recovered CO2 will be injected into the reservoirs of the depleted gas fields leveraging CCUS technologies for enhanced gas recovery,” says BASF Japan.iPACT wil be used for Japan’s first demonstration project to produce blue hydrogen and ammonia from domestic natural gas.

HiPACT captures and compresses CO2 due to its high-temperature durability and CO2 absorption performance. The captured CO2 can be stored underground in an “energy-saving manner.”

“The implementation of HiPACT results from our excellent partnership with JGC Group by combining our capabilities in process technology and plant engineering. We look forward to using HiPACT to expand the global CCUS landscape,” says Lawrence Loe, director of Oase gas treating excellence, intermediates Asia-Pacific at BASF. 

Oade is a CO2 capture technology for many applications, like natural gas, synthesis gas, flue gas and biogas.

BASF’s gas treating technologies have been used in more than 500 plants worldwide, shares BASF Japan.

CCU in personal care
Curbing CO2 levels provides new opportunities to industry players aiming to reduce their carbon footprint and reach their climate goals. 

Earlier this month, UK industry giants, universities and NGOs, including Unilever, Society of Chemical Industry, BASF and 12 others, initiated a two-year program worth £5.4 million (US$6.5 million) dubbed Flue2Chem, aimed at converting industrial waste gasses into environmentally sustainable materials for use in consumer products.

LanzaTech entered into a research collaboration with Givaudan to develop environmentally sustainable fragrance ingredients from renewable carbon.

Using CCU, manufacturers can prevent waste carbon from entering the atmosphere, using it to produce ingredients like ethanol. This can then be used to create products like perfume or cosmetics packaging.

Beiersdorf addressed the ubiquitous demand for planet-conscious skincare products in its skincare launch, which harnesses CO2 recycling technology to power its operations. The resulting brand was the Nivea Men Climate Care Moisturizer.

“Production of small molecules such as ethanol and other perfumes could benefit the beauty industry,” Phillip Milner, assistant professor of chemical and chemical biology at Cornell University, previously told PersoncalCareInsights.

Moreover, Unilever introduced carbon-negative products and inched closer to eliminating virgin petrochemicals from its cleaning and laundry formulations.

By Venya Patel