We are aware of our environmental impact and we continuously work to reduce the environmental footprint from our operations. Furthermore, Rain Carbon is focused on developing more environmentally friendly products to ensure our customers have the raw materials they need to attain their sustainability goals.

The installed heat-recovery systems co-generate electric power or steam from waste heat recovered in the calcining process. The combination of calcining green petroleum coke and energy recycling achieves the simultaneous benefits of calcined petroleum coke production and energy conservation. In 2018, the Vizag waste-heat recovery system generated approximately 255,000 MWh of energy, which was provided to local communities.

At our European distillation and advanced materials sites in Germany and Belgium, we generate steam from production-related waste heat, which is used as a substitute for energy for our own processes or provided to other companies and local communities. In 2019, the phthalic anhydride plant and waste-heat recovery systems in Zelzate, Belgium, generated steam that was used as energy throughout the facility. In Castrop-Rauxel, Germany, the distillation plant generated 41,635 MWh of waste-heat steam.

The combination of production and energy generation is beneficial as the energy/steam is used by our plants, other companies and the local grid. This reduces the need to burn additional fossil fuels to generate the same amount of energy, which offsets the accompanying CO₂ emissions.

*Based on 2019 data on gross electricity generation at waste-heat recovery plants in Vizag, Lake Charles, Chalmette, Suryapet and Kurnool and steam generation at Norco, Castrop-Rauxel, Duisburg and Zelzate. CO₂ emissions calculated from megawatts based on emission factors of local electricity grids.

In 2014, Rain Carbon implemented ISO 50001 certified energy-management systems at our German production sites. More recently, a systematic screening of process installations for energy-reduction measures has been implemented in our Zelzate facility in Belgium, and in 2020, a reduction of total energy consumption by approximately 9% could be realized (reference year: 2014).

We aim for the possible highest efficiency in our operations and constantly optimize our production processes. A recent example is our new dual-solvent process for the production of carbo-indene and phenol. This modernized, integrated process involves significantly fewer production steps, thereby resulting in reduced energy consumption and waste.

A switch from batch to continuous-production process technology can offer high-efficiency potentials. For example, a continuous production processes saves energy compared to batch production by avoiding repeated heating and cooling. Recent examples of our implementation of continuous-production processes are the new hydrogenated hydrocarbon resins production plant at our Castrop-Rauxel facility in Germany and the phthalic anhydride production plant in Zelzate, Belgium.

Our Vizag calciner in India has operated with a high-efficiency lime-based FGD system since its commissioning in 1998. Over the years, we have also incorporated lime-based FGD systems at our U.S. calciners in Lake Charles (2013), Chalmette (2015) and Norco (2017).

FGD systems reduce SO₂ emissions by up to approximately 98% at Vizag, 65% at Chalmette, 60% at Lake Charles and 40% at Norco. We will continue to craft and implement innovative, cost-effective solutions to reduce our environmental impact, thereby fulfilling our responsibility toward the planet.

At our new vertical-shaft calciner in the Andhra Pradesh Special Economic Zone in India, we have installed a state-of-the-art liquid-ammonia gas-scrubbing technology. This advanced FGD system will enable us to virtually eliminate the plant’s SO₂ emissions. An added benefit is the production of a valuable by-product, ammonium sulphate, which will be provided as a fertilizer to farmers in India, making it a highly sustainable process.

Each year, an external company performs a complete measurement campaign to identify benzene leaks. In total, more than 6,000 emission points are measured. Detected leaks are then repaired as soon as possible. Due to the success of this project at Zelzate, a similar project was implemented in 2013 at our Castrop-Rauxel facility in Germany, and it is currently being rolled out to our Hamilton and Cherepovets distillation facilities in Canada and Russia, respectively.

For NO_x emissions at our Zelzate plant in Belgium, we plan to introduce a catalytic deNOx unit in 2021, leading to a 40% reduction of NOx emissions versus 2019.