LANXESS Opens Nitrous Oxide Reduction Plant in Antwerp

LANXESS has taken another significant step toward climate neutrality: the specialty chemicals company opened a nitrous oxide reduction facility at its plant in Antwerp, Belgium on 10 February. The facility decomposes approximately 500 metric tons of nitrogen oxide per year; this is equivalent to the climate impact of 150,000 metric tons of CO2. LANXESS invested approximately 10 million euros in the construction of the facility. A second facility is scheduled to begin operation in 2023 and is expected to eliminate 300,000 tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2e). LANXESS Board Member Hubert Fink explained: "We are committed to the Paris Agreement in limiting global warming to below two degrees Celsius. The new nitrogen oxide reduction facility in Antwerp is a key building block in LANXESS becoming climate neutral by 2040." At the same time, underscoring the economic benefits of climate protection measures, he stated: "Climate protection is a business case for us. On the one hand, we are becoming an even more sustainable partner for our customers. On the other hand, we are reducing our costs because we need fewer certificates from the European Emissions Trading System and we consume less energy thanks to innovative technologies." [caption id="attachment_123153" align="aligncenter"] With its new nitrous oxide reduction facility in Antwerp, LANXESS completely neutralizes laughing gas by breaking it down into its components nitrogen and oxygen at 1,000 degrees Celsius.[/caption]

Innovative technology with efficient heat utilization

Nitrous oxide (N2O), also known as laughing gas, is produced at the Antwerp facility during the manufacture of plastic intermediate caprolactam. It is harmless to humans but 300 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide. LANXESS breaks down the nitrogen oxide at approximately 1,000 degrees Celsius in the new facility into its harmless components nitrogen and oxygen, thereby completely neutralizing it. In a second process step, the facility decomposes further nitrogen oxides (NOx). Ammonia is used as a reducing agent for this purpose. At temperatures between 250 and 450 degrees Celsius, nitrogen oxides are broken down, producing nitrogen and water. Due to this innovative combination of processes, the facility is highly efficient from a thermal perspective. This is achieved through specially developed ceramic heat exchangers. These capture and store the heat used in the thermal oxidation process and generated during the decomposition of nitrous oxide and nitrogen oxides. When the heat exchangers store heat in the clean gas, the process flow direction changes and the heat exchangers now preheat the incoming exhaust gas. This change of direction occurs repeatedly thereafter. This means that significantly less external energy needs to be supplied to keep the process running.

Ambitious plans for climate protection

In addition to the Antwerp plant, the Group is currently implementing other climate protection projects with the goal of becoming climate neutral by 2040. LANXESS is also converting all energy supply at its facilities in India to renewable energy sources. The company is greatly expanding biomass and solar energy supply there and will no longer use coal or gas in the future. This will reduce CO2e emissions by a further 150,000 tons starting in 2024. The Group also plans to phase out coal-based energy use at its main production facilities in Germany. In 2019, LANXESS announced that it would invest up to a total of 100 million euros in climate protection projects by 2025. LANXESS is also revising many of its existing production processes. For example, the Group will continue to develop "Verbund" structures, such as heat exchange and air purification between facilities. Other procedures must first be developed on a large industrial scale. Therefore, the Group is directing the focus of its research more closely to climate-neutral processes and technological innovation. Since LANXESS was founded in 2004, the Group has reduced its emissions from 6.4 million tons CO2e to approximately more than half, or 3.06 million tons CO2e, by 2019.