Japan’s three major chemical companies collaborate on research for carbon-neutral ethylene technologies

Thread Content

On May 8, Asahi Kasei, Mitsui Chemicals, and Mitsubishi Chemicals jointly announced their decision to conduct a joint feasibility study on the conversion of raw materials and fuels at the ethylene plants located in western Japan, in order to advance carbon neutrality. 　　Ethylene production is one of the key starting points in the petrochemical industry; the basic chemicals produced from ethylene are used as raw materials for manufacturing various products. However, a large amount of petroleum raw materials and fuel are consumed in the ethylene production process. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions in ethylene production is a major challenge. 　　Asahi Kasei, Mitsui Chemicals, and Mitsubishi Chemical have all adopted policies to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions to zero. At the same time, the three giants are all pursuing measures to reduce energy consumption and developing technologies for using low-carbon raw materials and fuels. 　　The joint effort by these three companies is primarily aimed at improving the efficiency of ethylene production facilities and accelerating the process of carbon neutrality for petrochemical products. This specifically involves replacing petroleum resources with biomass materials and using low-carbon fuels, while also studying the optimal production arrangements for the future.