“Showa Denko decided to invest 650 million yen in this June to start reconstruction of the liquefied ammonia (LNH3) distribution center which was tsunami-devastated and has been out of operation due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, with a scheduled commencement of operation in March 2014.

The distribution center started operation at Soma Port of Fukushima Prefecture in March 2010 as the logistics base of its original liquefied NH3 products for delivery to the six prefectures of the Tohoku District and Niigata Prefecture, and was being engaged in distribution of LNH3 to the fields of metal surface treatment, heat power station and garbage-disposal facility. However, the center has been out of operation since the tsunami disaster caused by the Earthquake.

The tsunami destroyed the gas cylinder filling system and the liquefied NH3 production facility, and also washed out 300 gas cylinders. Fortunately, however, two units of 120-ton filling equipment for delivery to tank trucks have remained undamaged. They are going to be operated continuously as safety has already been checked on them.

In this reconstruction work, they install liquid protective barriers, anti-pressure protectors, sprinklers, foam sprayers and leak detectors for safety measures instead of stopping filling of gas cylinders and production of NH3 water. In addition, they apply an equipment design on the assumption of evacuation routes such as removal up to a plateau of the two 120 ton LH3 units.

The total liquefied NH3 sold per year amounting to six thousand tons is distributed through the logistics base. As an annual demand in the Tohoku District of main consumer is estimated to be 20 thousand tons, the company is regarded as the top supplier accounting for 30% of all. In the Tohoku District, a stable supply is now needed increasingly because the users have restarted their operation and the working ratio of heat generation plants have risen to cause an increased demand.

Showa Denko’s IR Public Relations Department describes the background that half of the consumption amounting to 20 thousand tons per year in Tohoku is dominated by the application to heat power plants and there is more trend of such application now, which is why the company aims at more stable supply of NH3. Showa Denko has seven LNH3 distribution centers in Chiba, Kawasaki, Yokkaichi, Kawagoe (Mie Prefecture), Toyama, Mizushima and Oita. In addition to the cylinder storage facility in Osaka Port, the company is going to restart the logistics base of Soma Port in March 2014. Most probably the supply trend of NH3 will draw much more attention from now on.”