Recently, Kumho Petrochemical (CEO Baek Jong-hoon) announced that it had completed the construction of a CCUS (carbon dioxide capture, utilization, and storage) facility and held a completion ceremony.
This is about 19 months since the groundbreaking ceremony in December 2023, and Kumho Petrochemical plans to start full-scale operation of the carbon dioxide capture facility to selectively capture only carbon dioxide from the exhaust gas of the power generation facility. This is significant in that it has laid the foundation for a conversion and utilization project that can make other useful chemicals from the captured carbon dioxide in the future.
The event was attended by Baek Jong-hoon, CEO of Kumho Petrochemical, K&H Special Gas, Kang Jae-hwa, CEO of Hyundai Heavy Industries' Power System, who was in charge of construction, Jeong Ki-myung, Mayor of Yeosu, Gu Chung-gon, head of the Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone Authority, and Kim Young-woo, head of the Yeongsan River Basin Environment Agency. The participants exchanged progress reports and carbon neutrality practice agreements, and moved to Kumho Petrochemical Yeosu No. 2 Energy, where the facility is located, to conduct a tape-cutting ceremony and equipment rounding.
The CCUS facility, which captures and utilizes carbon dioxide emitted from Kumho Petrochemical's power generation facilities, can capture about 76,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year when operating at maximum operation. The captured carbon dioxide is used in various fields such as dry ice, carbonic acid for food and beverages, agriculture such as welding and cutting, horticulture, and wastewater treatment through the treatment process of K&H special gas.
In addition, Kumho Petrochemical has directly invested in a carbon dioxide capture facility to secure capture process technology, and based on this, it will capture 220 tons of carbon dioxide per day. In particular, Kumho Petrochemical expects to enjoy the effect of reducing greenhouse gases as a company subject to the emissions trading system.
Baek Jong-hoon, CEO of Kumho Petrochemical, explained, "Kumho Petrochemical's CCUS will be a symbolic example of using carbon dioxide as a new resource rather than a cost."
Meanwhile, Kumho Petrochemical was selected as an ESG Top-Rated Company by Sustainellitics, a global ESG rating agency, in February, achieved a higher level in the MSCI ESG rating in March, and published a sustainability report on its performance for the year 2024 last month.
Source: Kumho Petrochemcial
