"Petrochemical Industry, 2nd Largest Greenhouse Gas Emitter, Must Find New Carbon Neutral Solutions"

Hosted by the Carbon Neutral Green Growth Committee
Organized by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry & Petrochemical Association
'Petrochemical Industry Future Strategy Forum'

The government, industry, and academia joined forces to find new carbon-neutral solutions for the petrochemical industry.

On the 31st, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) held the "Future Strategy Forum for the Petrochemical Industry" at the Chamber of Commerce building in Jung-gu, Seoul, jointly with the 2050 Carbon Neutral Green Growth Committee and the Korea Petrochemical Industry Association.

The petrochemical industry is a representative sector with high carbon emissions. As of 2018, greenhouse gas emissions from the petrochemical sector amounted to 71 million tons, accounting for 18% of total industrial emissions and 6.4% of the national total. In the same year, the highest greenhouse gas emissions were from the steel industry at 119 million tons (30%), followed by petrochemicals in second place, and cement in third place at 37 million tons (9%). Companies from all sectors of the domestic petrochemical industry, concerned with achieving carbon neutrality, participated in the forum.

In his opening remarks, Kim Sang-hyeop, Chairman of the Carbon Neutral Green Growth Committee, said, "Although Korea is not an oil-producing country, it has become a global petrochemical export powerhouse by leveraging excellent manufacturing technology and economies of scale. Moving forward, the chemical industry must turn carbon neutrality into an opportunity, find new momentum, and seek innovative growth to prepare for a sustainable future."

Woo Tae-hee, Executive Vice Chairman of KCCI, emphasized in his welcoming speech, "The competitiveness of the domestic petrochemical industry will depend on carbon reduction. Achieving carbon neutrality in the petrochemical industry requires the development of innovative technologies and large-scale investments, so full government support and public-private cooperation are essential."

LG Chem is building a methane dry reforming (DRM) facility that uses carbon dioxide captured from the factory and methane, a by-product gas, to produce plastics. The completion is scheduled for the end of this year. DRM is a type of carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology that reduces existing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 50% and produces key plastic raw materials, serving as a carbon reduction facility. The photo shows the exterior of LG Chem's Chungnam Daesan plant, selected as the pilot plant. Photo by LG Chem

The forum was conducted in three sessions, including two keynote presentations on "Global Trends" and "Domestic Industry Development Directions," followed by a discussion. The first session examined global trends in the petrochemical industry. It reviewed the future development directions and investment strategies of the global petrochemical industry and explored the carbon neutrality goals and implementation directions of overseas companies through the case of the global chemical company BASF.

Baek Jin-young, Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), presented sustainability, changes in supply raw materials, value enhancement, and regulatory intervention as key trends that will determine the future of the petrochemical industry. He introduced five major technology areas that the petrochemical industry should consider for future investments.

One of these is 'membrane separation.' Membranes selectively permeate and separate desired particles from mixtures in liquid or gas environments. This technology can reduce energy consumption during the distillation process in the petrochemical industry. 'Olefin synthesis from carbon dioxide' was also selected as a technology area for investment consideration. This involves converting carbon dioxide into olefins, high-value petrochemical raw materials used in producing products such as films, urethanes, and plastics. Artificial intelligence (AI), generative AI (GenAI), plant electrification, and bio-based raw materials were also included.

Jung Ji-min, Managing Director of BASF Korea, explained, "Our company has set a goal to reduce emissions by 25% by 2030 compared to 2018 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. For products, we have established a leading system to manage Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions."

The second session examined domestic petrochemical-related policies and technology development directions. Professor Lee Sang-jun of Seoul National University of Science and Technology stated, "Since the petrochemical industry lacks a dominant technology for carbon neutrality like hydrogen reduction steelmaking technology in the steel industry, a phased investment strategy is necessary to find successful alternatives among multiple options. An integrated approach linked with zero-carbon energy, CCUS, and circular economy is essential."

In the final discussion session, industry, academia, research institutes, and government officials analyzed domestic and international trends in the petrochemical industry and discussed ways to overcome various difficulties encountered in the process of promoting carbon neutrality.

KCCI plans to continue hosting carbon neutrality forums on various topics with the government to explore ways for the industry to implement carbon neutrality.

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