CO2 separation and recovery technology development challenge 2
Crasus Chemical is conducting joint research with a group led by Dr. Susumu Kitagawa, director and deputy vice-president of Kyoto University and distinguished professor at the Institute for Advanced Study who was awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contribution to the development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).
Low-concentration CO2 separation and recovery technology development―an approach to social implementation of the technology that fulfills our commitment as a petrochemical manufacturer
Crasus Chemical is engaged in the development of low-concentration CO2 separation and recovery technology utilizing porous coordination polymers (PCPs), which are also known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), the technology theme of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner. In order to pursue this purpose, the company has formed a special team to undertake a joint project with the Nobel laureate Susumu Kitagawa, director and deputy vice-president of Kyoto University and distinguished professor at the Institute for Advanced Study. The following is a report on the interview with team members from the Technology Development Department, who described the background of the project, the current development progress and specific future prospects.
Current progress in innovative CO2 separation and recovery technology development
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Since 2009, Crasus Chemical has been engaged in joint research with Dr. Kitagawa to study PCP (MOF) technology, which has moved into the limelight with him when he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for contributing to the development of the technology. W.Y., the most frequent participant in joint project sessions, described the developmental background as follows: “The project planning started by taking note of the possibility of using the PCP (MOF) technology developed by Dr. Kitagawa to establish processes for recovering low-concentration CO2 contained mainly in industrial fumes at low costs. And the collaboration was formed by effectively matching the potential technology held by the university with industrial needs for solutions.
The company’s R&D endeavor to innovate with CO2 separation and recovery technologies using PCPs (MOFs) was selected by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) in 2022 as a Green Innovation Fund Project, which launched joint development efforts in full scale involving two companies and six universities.
This project aims to achieve practical application in the later 2030s, and the entire plan is scheduled for a nine-year period starting from 2022, with three phases set to deal with different themes: determination of the separating agent’s structure, examination of volume production methods and operation conditions, and pilot-scale demonstration testing. Technology Development Department Head S.S. explained the present situation: “The project is in the second phase of development. Having completed the stage of determining the separating agent’s structure as suitable for CO2 recovery, we have entered the trial operation stage.”
In 2024, a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) bench test unit was installed within the company, and it is running to collect an enormous test data at present. The data will be used for examination to determine optimal operation conditions for efficient CO2 separation and recovery.
Technology Development Department W.Y.
Technology Development Department Head S.S.-
The journey toward social implementation
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Within the project, Crasus Chemical in particular bears responsibility for establishing processes to apply the technology for actual purposes in society. What challenges must the company overcome in order to fulfill its responsibility?
Technology Development Department Group I Leader O.K. answered, ”The university laboratory handles PCPs on a milligram scale, but for the purpose of practical application, handling on a scale of tons is essential. To this end, we are striving to establish appropriate scale-up technologies. That is our most important mission.” For this purpose, the project team is doing examinations on a diverse spectrum of factors, including raw materials procurement as well as pressure and temperature control methods. One example can be taken from the task of creating processes for pelletizing powder PCPs (MOFs). “There are many different options available for pelletization, and we are seeking for the best possible method by trial and error. Fortunately, we have gained a wealth of expertise pursuing advanced research on the separation and recovery of chemical substances over many years, and we are applying that to the ongoing project. It’s a strong advantage that the company can offer to this project.” (W.Y.)
For the purpose of social implementation of the technology, the project needs to satisfy requirements for two key issues―economic performance and energy efficiency. “For a new technology to achieve widespread use, it must be able to be provided at the lowest possible cost and energy consumption. Having established basic CO2 recovery and desorption processes, we are now endeavoring to enhance performance, looking at a successful delivery of the project in 2030,“ said S.S. enthusiastically.
Technology Development Department Group I Leader O.K.
Setting higher goals
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To describe Dr. Kitagawa, the world-renowned scientist and our long-time R&D partner, O.K. said “He is very kind and helpful to us at all times, giving advice about many different things. As our R&D partner, he holds a technical review session every two or three months at Kyoto University, and visits the worksite in Oita at least once a year to have in-depth discussions.
While university researchers pursue academic value, we are an industrial enterprise seeking for practical usefulness. On this project, we are communicating our specific practical requests to academic researchers. We’ll say things like, ‘We need PCPs (MOFs) that are able to capture CO2 under such and such conditions.’ They respond by giving suggestions and plans for obtaining the target functions and performance using worksite capabilities. Based on such advice, we create new materials, examine their performance, and give feedback. By repeating this process, our academia-business collaboration is moving forward in an ideal manner.” (W.Y.)
“Dr. Kitagawa congratulates us each time we report a good result for our experiments. I feel he places great value on efforts for using research results to practically do good for society,” said S.S., expressing his appreciation to the researcher. He added, “He is a very inspiring advisor, a source of our continuous strong motivation. Going forward, we will continue with our journey toward social implementation.”
Establishing the name of Crasus Chemical as an expert in CO2 separation and recovery
Crasus Chemical is making steady progress in developing a CO2 separation and recovery process for which social implementation can be achieved. The process is expected to provide an overriding solution to the global warming issue by reducing CO2 emissions stemming from essential facilities, such as factories, waste treatment plants, and LNG-fired power stations. The company is also working on converting recovered CO2 to chemical products with a focus on achieving a carbon resource recycling system.
S.S. explained the significance of pursuing the project as follows: “By establishing the CO2 separation and recovery process, we aim to fulfil our corporate responsibility regarding achieving carbon neutrality while developing a new core business based on this technology.”
The frontline project team members expressed their commitment passionately: “We’ll make a success of commercialization without fail, and establish the name of Crasus Chemical as an expert in CO2 separation and recovery.” (W.Y.); and “We’ll complete the project successfully to deliver a technological solution that will be used around the world.” (O.K.)
Crasus Chemical’s quest to deliver a successful completion of the project continues.
