Kumho Petrochemical, Kumho P&B Chemicals, Kumho Mitsui Chemicals, and Kumho Polychem—key affiliates of Kumho Petrochemical—have moved to pursue sustainable development with a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
According to the industry on the 10th, Kumho Petrochemical will gradually expand and implement the international indicator "zero waste to landfill certification," which evaluates corporations' resource-circulation efforts, to minimize environmental pollution and enhance resource utilization.
Yeosu 2 Energy, a combined heat and power plant operated by Kumho Petrochemical in the Yeosu Industrial Complex, has already earned a gold rating in the "zero waste to landfill certification" by recycling combustion ash generated from the plant's boilers. Yeosu 2 Energy has completed renewal of this certification. Yeosu 1 Energy is also set to receive a new certification related to this. In addition, Kumho Petrochemical plans to expand the scope of zero waste to landfill certification to six business sites in the future to strengthen eco-friendly management activities.
In July, Kumho Petrochemical built carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) facilities to lay the groundwork for a transition to a circular economy. Using CCUS, Kumho Petrochemical selectively captures carbon dioxide from exhaust gas emitted by power facilities, then converts it into useful chemicals through processing by its affiliate K&H Specialty Gas. The converted substances will be used in a variety of fields, including dry ice and carbon dioxide for food and beverages, as well as welding and cutting, and wastewater treatment. A Kumho Petrochemical official said, "We expect not only greenhouse gas reductions but also value creation and expense savings."
Kumho P&B Chemicals has stepped up monitoring through facility investments to advance environmental management. It installed a calorific value monitoring system on flare stacks (gas incineration facilities) at Yeosu Plants 1 and 2 to enable immediate response in emergencies. At the Gwangyang logistics center, it installed air pollution prevention facilities with the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve work efficiency through real-time monitoring from a control center. It also added flammable gas detectors to CHP (cumene hydroperoxide) handling equipment to meet standards for facilities handling hazardous chemicals, strengthening compliance with related laws and accident prevention systems.
Kumho Mitsui Chemicals introduced an eco-friendly recycling process and began operating a new plant in the first half of this year. Through this, it plans to increase the self-sufficiency rate of materials and supplies by reducing and reusing wastewater generated in the production of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) into chlorine, caustic soda, and other substances. It also demonstrated the feasibility of producing MDI products using recycled methanol and bio-naphtha as feedstocks, maintaining the "ISCC PLUS" international certification under the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification scheme.
In addition, Kumho Mitsui Chemicals provides MDI solutions suitable for producing low-emission volatile organic compounds (VOCs) products tailored to customer product development needs. This supports reductions in emissions of hazardous air pollutants without performance loss across various industries, including building interior materials and automotive sound-absorbing materials.
Kumho Polychem has set up pollution control facilities to reduce environmental pollution as it expands production facilities. It additionally installed a regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) and a vapor combustion unit (VCU), which had been operated to treat volatile organic compounds and hazardous gases, increasing the capacity to treat air pollutants.
It also relocated and expanded facilities to ensure safe storage and management of increased waste due to the expansion of the ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) Line 5. This has enabled appropriate storage of waste and created conditions to prevent environmental pollution and accidents.