Showa Denko announced its plan of trials to test the employment of used plastic as a source of hydrogen for use in fuel cells to generate electricity and as fuel for fuel cell vehicles (FCV). This undertaking began after being accepted under the 2015 Project of Regional Partnerships to Test Technology for Low Carbon Hydrogen of the Ministry of the Environment.

The company produces ammonia under the brand name ECOANN at its plant in Kawasaki employing used plastic as the raw material. The gasification process is the core of the production process. Plastic which has been molded after reduction in volume in the initial process is transformed into a composite gas of which the main ingredients in this process are hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Here carbon monoxide and the hydrogen which is the source material for ammonia are extracted.

In the trials being currently undertaken, hydrogen made from used plastic is employed as the source material for ammonia. Specifically, hydrogen used as the source material for ammonia is refined with PSA or a membrane separator to 4N high purity hydrogen. This 4 N hydrogen is sent as gas by piping to the sea-side district in Kawasaki. Here use will be tested of pure hydrogen type fuel cells installed at private facilities and as FCVs.

Although still in the planning stage, 2 fuel cells of the 100kW type will be installed. It is assumed that the amount of hydrogen supplied will be on the order of 50 to 150 m3 an hour. Within the budget one FCV will be purchased to confirm that it can run without any problems using hydrogen originating in used plastic. Concurrently with the start of the trials, a comprehensive agreement was concluded with the Kawasaki Municipal Government. Assistance will be obtained from the city for obtaining permits and approvals as well as advice regarding the trials.

As the current undertaking will run for 5 years, the expense will be totally covered by the Ministry of the Environment. As for the schedule form now on, during this year the purifier will be installed, while next year work will commence on the piping and be completed. From 2017 to 2019 trials and verification will be undertaken.

A spokesperson from the company stated, “We’ve been engaged in the hydrogen business for a long time now, but we’ve been behind when it comes to involvement in hydrogen energy. With the current trials, we’ll be contributing to the construction of a circulation type hydrogen society in conjunction with the city of Kawasaki.”

ECOANN has obtained the world’s first Eco Mark for a production process

This summer Showa Denko obtained the Eco Mark designation from the public interest foundation called the Japan Environment Association regarding the ECOANN production process. This marks the world’s first certification for a production process.

In 2003 the company introduced an Ammonia Production Process Based on a Recycling of Plastic Containers. Initially 30% of the ammonia produced was from hydrogen produced from used plastic but this has since risen to 65%.

According to a spokesperson from the company, based on the container recycling law in Japan, recovered and recycled used plastic amounts to about 670,000 tons. Of this about 60,000 is recycled for ammonia.