US-based chemicals producer Celanese Corporation has begun operating what is claims is one of the world’s largest carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) programmes from its site in Clear Lake, Texas.
The project, which is part of Celanese’s Fairway Methanol joint venture with Japan-based Mitsui & Co, aims to capture 180,000 tonnes of industrial carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually and chemically convert it to produce 130,000t of low-carbon methanol.
Unlike carbon capture projects that store CO2, CCU promotes a circular approach because the carbon is used to make a variety of products. This reduces the need to use fossil fuel-based raw materials.
The CCU project will enable Celanese to offer low-carbon acetyl chain and engineered materials, which, in turn, will help its customers lower their own greenhouse gas emissions as they seek to meet sustainability targets.
“Our Celanese value chain can convert CO2 waste into products for a wide array of end-markets, including consumer goods like adhesives, packaging, toys, paints, coatings and more,” said Mark Murray, Celanese senior vice-president for acetyls.
“Our globally integrated value chain positions us to provide a wide range of solutions with carbon-capture content across our integrated acetyl chain as well as other methanol-derived products like acetal copolymers.”
Celanese said the products will be known as ECO-CC and will be assessed through mass balance and lifecycle assessments. Third-party sources will likely account for 80 per cent of the CO2 used in the project, the company added.
