Air Water Carbonic will construct a new plant to produce liquid carbon dioxide and dry ice using the raw material from Tonen General Sekiyu’s Kawasaki Plant of oil refinery.

The new plant will have a CO2 liquefying capacity of 110 thousand tons per annum and dry ice producing capacity of about 50 thousand tons per annum, located at an unused land owned by Tonen General Sekiyu’s Kawasaki Plant. The construction will start in 2014 for an aimed start of commercial operation in the 4th quarter of 2015.

Air Water will invest about 3 billion yen for a series of production facilities including CO2 liquefaction/recovery system and dry ice producing equipment. The new plant, together with the existing production base of Ichihara Plant, is intended for a stable supply in the Kanto District which has the largest demand in Japan.

In the domestic market of LCO2 and dry ice, the supply and demand balance has been extremely tight these several years due to the declined volume of crude gas supply from or shutdown of oil refineries and ammonia producers as their source. The LCO2 and dry ice industry is now proceeding with such new responses as the reinforcement of base-to-base transports by liquid tank trucks, the procurement of dry ice from Korea and the expansion of plant for new sources.

In Western Japan Air Water Carbonic built up Sanyo Onoda Plant (capable for LCO2 of 90 thousand tons/year) in March 2013 and is now constructing Muroran Plant (capable for LCO2 of 43.8 thousand tons/year) in Hokkaido with a schedule completion in October 2014. Kawasaki Plant will be the third new plant, but will cover not only Japan’s largest demand area for LCO2 and dry ice, but also plays a role of production base for the regions north of Kanto District.

Within the same region there is an expansion plan of LCO2 of 30 thousand tons per year at Nihon Shokubai, Kawasaki to be completed in April 2014, but there still is a fear of inadequate supply source because the shutdown of ammonia plant of Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Niigata may cause a shortage of LCO2 (40 thousand tons per year).

The new plant at this time will enhance the supply power for the Kanto and northern districts. Air Water’s Public Information Department commented, “In the midst of the nationwide shortage of supply source,we would like to contribute to a stable supply of LCO2 and dry ice within the region by means of partnership with Tonen General Sekiyu which is the a long-lasting and stable supply source.”