Develop New Processes! Sumitomo Chemical Launches Carbon Dioxide-to-Methanol Pilot Plant

According to ICIS reports on the 12th, Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical Company’s carbon dioxide to methanol pilot production base in Ehime Prefecture has been put into use.

The pilot plant will use carbon dioxide to produce methanol and is one of the "carbon capture and utilization" processes adopted by Sumitomo to achieve a circular economy. Details of the plant's investment and production capacity were not disclosed.

Sumitomo Chemical said that using the internal condensation reactor developed by Koji Omata, a professor at Shimane University in Japan, the company can solve the problems encountered in converting traditional carbon dioxide into methanol, such as byproduct water lead to low yields or cause catalyst degradation.

Sumitomo Chemical's internal condensation reactor enables condensation and separation of methanol and water, which is impossible with conventional technology. Sumitomo Chemical said this helps increase production, reduce equipment size, and achieve higher energy efficiency while effectively preventing catalyst degradation.

Sumitomo Chemical said in a statement on the 12th that its goal is to mature the carbon dioxide-to-methanol technology by 2028 and start commercial production using new processes in 2030. The new technology will be licensed to other companies. It is said that the carbon dioxide to methanol demonstration plant was built with the support of the Green Innovation Fund of Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization.