Breaking ground for a new CO2 recycling plant

Joint venture invests €5 million in Industriepark Höchst

This March, the partners of CO2 Betriebs-GmbH & Co. KG came together to break ground for a new carbon dioxide production plant at Industriepark Höchst. 

Established in October 2012, the joint venture is 50 percent owned by Westfalen AG, a mid-sized enterprise from Münster that specializes in gases, energy and filling stations. The remaining ownership stakes are held by basi Schöberl GmbH & Co. KG of Rastatt, Sauerstoffwerk Friedrich Guttroff GmbH of Wertheim and Rießner-Gase GmbH & Co. KG of Lichtenfels. 

The facility recycles waste product The partners are investing a total of €5 million in the plant, which is scheduled to come online this fall. The new facility is being erected on a 1,300 m² lot in Zone E 4 on the northern Main River side of the park. The facility is a prime example of the site’s integrated philosophy: It will recycle carbon dioxide (CO2) generated by Celanese Chemicals Europe GmbH as a byproduct of vinyl acetate production. 

The environmental benefits are enormous: “By integrating our facility with the new carbon dioxide plant, we can greatly reduce our CO2 emissions and enable this waste product to be transformed into a valuable commodity,” said Rita Bürger from Celanese GmbH. The new plant recycles up to 3.4 tons of carbon dioxide per hour, or roughly 28,000 tons a year. Carbon dioxide has countless uses: In water treatment, as a shielding gas in welding, and in the food industry as a sparkling beverage additive or a protective atmosphere for packages. The new facility achieves purities as high as 99.999 volume percent and thus meets the requirements of Coca-Cola and the International Society of Beverage Technologists (ISBT). A sophisticated on-site analyzer can immediately test gas quality at any time.

For Infraserv Höchst Managing Director Roland Mohr, the project reaffirms the benefits of Industriepark
Höchst: “Innovative projects that deliver significant environmental benefits are best implemented at large industrial estates where efficient resource management is part of the day-to-day business,” said Mohr.