LOTTE Chemical Applies Gas Separator Carbon Capture Technologies in Blue Hydrogen Production Site...

Expected to Advance Related Technologies and Increase Utilization

█ Participated in the development of the Ministry of Science and ICT’s Hybrid CO2 Capture Liquefaction Process...

   Advancement of gas separator CO2 capture technologies and procured hybrid CO2 capture technologies

█ Installed first gas separator CCU pilot equipment among Korean chemical companies at the Yeosu plant last year and completed testing...

    Aiming to commercialize first separator carbon capture among global chemical companies with the goal of beginning commercial production

    by the second half of 2023

█ President Hwang Jin-koo, “It is meaningful that LOTTE Chemical’s gas separator carbon capture technologies will be used

    in the blue hydrogen production site”... “LOTTE Chemical will strive to contribute in carbon neutrality by expanding utilizationthrough

    additional research of the corresponding technology”

LOTTE Chemical will begin technological development of hybrid CO2 capture liquefaction processes for producing blue hydrogen. 

LOTTE Chemical was selected as a joint research institute as part of 12 institutes participating in the Ministry of Science and ICT’s national policy project in the CCU (Carbon Capture, Utilization) field, and signed an MOU on the 8th. Through this national joint research project, LOTTE Chemical plans to advance its existing gas separator CO2 capture technology, while also procuring technologies related to hybrid CO2 capture, which will be the outcome of this project, and plans to use this when installing related equipment in the future.

This project is titled ‘Optimization and Testing of Hybrid CO2 Capture Liquefaction Process for Blue Hydrogen Production’ and it will a develop a process of capturing and utilizing over 100 tons of CO2 a day. The objective is to internalize technologies through on-site testing at the Pyeongtaek Special Hydrogen Zone, which will be followed by engineering an annual 1-million-ton commercial process design. 

They hybrid CO2 capture technology is scheduled to apply the membrane separation method using gas separators, wet method using absorbents (Hyundai Construction), VSA (Vacuum Swing Adsorption) method (Korea Institute of Energy Research). Optimization technologies will be developed according to each of these capturing methods generated in the blue hydrogen production process, which are expected to contribute to the improvement of blue hydrogen production efficiency. 

LOTTE Chemical will be in charge of gas separator carbon capture technologies in this project.

Technologies are being developed for combustion exhaust gas generated during the blue hydrogen production process using gas separator CCU technologies possessed by LOTTE Chemical. Furthermore, plans are to strengthen blue hydrogen production competitiveness by expanding technologies that collects CO2 from gases lost during the liquefaction process.

In March of this year, LOTTE Chemical installed gas separator CCU pilot facilities for the first time among domestic chemical companies at Yeosu Plant 1 and conducted test operations for nine months. Through this, performance verification of carbon capture gas separator was completed, and it is pursuing commercialization of the separator carbon capture for the first time among global chemical companies at the Daesan Plant based on the data and operating technologies collected and analyzed during the testing process. Participation in this national project is expected to let LOTTE Chemical procure carbon capture technologies in the blue hydrogen production sector to take a step closer to the realization of the eco-friendly hydrogen development road map ‘Every Step for H2.’  

In addition, based on these hybrid CO2 capture technologies, LOTTE Chemical plans to further advance and procure higher efficiency for CO2 capture technologies that it possesses. It will apply appropriate technologies to existing and new facilities to maximize economic efficiency, while procuring distinguished competitiveness.

LOTTE Chemical Basic Materials President Hwang Jin-koo stated, “It is meaningful that LOTTE Chemical’s gas separator carbon capture technologies will be used in the blue hydrogen production site,” and added “LOTTE Chemical will strive to contribute in carbon neutrality by expanding utilization through additional research of the corresponding technology.”

Meanwhile, LOTTE Chemical plans to speed up the pursuit of commercialization by quickly procuring future business capacities such as hydrogen, carbon neutrality, batteries, bio, etc. by reinforcing open innovation research activities with the best domestic and foreign universities, research institutes, and companies in each sector.

The ‘Carbon Neutral Research Center’ was established in January together with KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) for procuring future technologies and discovering talented human resources to realize a carbon-neutral society, and it has selected projects and researching technological development and economic analysis such as ▲production of clean hydrogen through pyrolysis and electrolysis of waste plastics ▲eco-friendly naphtha production technologies ▲liquid organic hydrogen storage and vehicle technologies ▲optimization of clean hydrogen production price and reduction of carbon emissions through LCA (life-cycle assessment), etc.