POSCO Chemical and Dongseo Chemical Establish Joint Venture for Eco-Friendly Activated Carbon

Eco-friendly Materials for Water and Air Purification
Plant with Annual Production Capacity of 7,000 Tons to be Completed in 2024

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] POSCO Chemical is partnering with Dongseo Chemical Industry to enter the activated carbon new business, an eco-friendly material used for water and air purification. By producing materials domestically that have a high dependence on imports, they aim to contribute to supply chain stabilization and accelerate the expansion of their high value-added material portfolio.

On the 12th, POSCO Chemical announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for activated carbon business cooperation at POSCO Cheongsong University in Pohang, Gyeongbuk, attended by Kim Junhyung, President of POSCO Chemical, Jo Yongmoon, Director of the Basic Materials Research Institute, Jeon Jangyeol, Chairman of Dongseo Chemical Industry, and Hong Youngjun, Head of the Construction Materials Business Division.

The two companies plan to establish a joint venture for activated carbon in the second half of this year and complete an activated carbon plant with an annual production capacity of 7,000 tons by the end of 2024. They will produce products by recycling oil generated during coke manufacturing in the steelmaking process. Production capacity will be gradually expanded depending on market conditions. POSCO Chemical will handle raw material supply and activated carbon manufacturing, while Dongseo Chemical Industry, a coal chemical specialist company, will process the raw materials. Coke is produced by processing coal and is used as a heat source in the steelmaking process.

Activated carbon is an eco-friendly material manufactured by processing carbonaceous raw materials such as wood and coal at high temperatures. Utilizing the strong adsorption properties of its micropores, it can remove pollutants and is used in water and air purifiers and filters. Recently, it has been widely used across industries, including in high-power energy storage devices such as supercapacitors.

On the 11th, at POSCO Cheongsong University in Pohang, Gyeongbuk, Jo Yong-moon, Head of the Basic Materials Research Institute at POSCO Chemical (left), and Hong Young-jun, Head of the Construction Materials Business Division at Dongseo Chemical Industry, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for cooperation in the activated carbon business and took a commemorative photo.
[Photo by POSCO Chemical]

This joint venture is also expected to stabilize the domestic activated carbon supply chain. The activated carbon market was valued at 6 trillion KRW globally and 250 billion KRW domestically as of last year, with over 80% of domestic consumption relying on imports. Recently, supply and demand have become unstable due to raw material monopolies by manufacturers in the U.S. and Japan and increased usage caused by stricter environmental regulations in China. The government designated activated carbon as an emergency supply control material in July last year to secure stockpiles.

POSCO Chemical will further expand its eco-friendly carbon material business portfolio by processing by-products from the steelmaking process to manufacture high value-added materials. In October 2021, it opened an artificial graphite anode factory using needle coke, a steelmaking by-product, as raw material, and in October last year, through its subsidiary P&OChemical, it completed a high-purity hydrogen peroxide plant utilizing coke oven gas generated during the steelmaking process.

President Kim said, “We are pleased to cooperate with Dongseo Chemical Industry, which possesses excellent technology, for an eco-friendly material business that requires domestic production.” He added, “To respond to the changing industrial environment such as eco-friendly trends and the establishment of a country-centered supply chain, we will focus more on developing new materials and securing manufacturing technologies.”

Chairman Jeon stated, “Considering the uses, scope of application, and future value, activated carbon has a strong public goods nature.” He added, “We will strive for material localization and supply chain stability with POSCO Chemical, which leads the eco-friendly material industry, and contribute to carbon neutrality and strengthening industrial competitiveness.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.