GS Caltex to capture and utilize carbon with own technology

South Korea's GS Caltex Corp. will launch a carbon capture and utilization (CCU) project in collaboration with South Jeolla Province and Yeosu City in the Yeosu National Industrial Complex, where it operates oil refining and petrochemical plants.

GS Caltex plans to capture carbon dioxide emitted from the plants within the industrial complex and use it to produce chemical products, which will then be exported.

The company said on Wednesday that it has signed a CCU megaproject agreement with the provincial and city governments on the prior day.

Under the agreement, GS Caltex will develop and demonstrate its CCU-related technology in the industrial complex in South Jeolla Province, one of the country's large petrochemical complexes.

GS Caltex's research center has already verified the technology and is preparing to test and demonstrate it.

The governments of South Jeolla Province and Yeosu City will build the infrastructure to facilitate the CCU technology development and demonstration.

"Yeosu National Industrial Complex, where oil refining, steel and petrochemical plants are concentrated, is an optimal place to demonstrate CCU technologies," said a GS Caltex official.

It has recently developed a technology to produce polyol using carbon dioxide and has filed its patent. Polyol is a key ingredient of polyurethane, used as car and home appliance interior materials and for synthetic resins.

The new carbon dioxide-based polyol boasts approximately 30% higher shore hardness, or stronger resistance to deformatinon, than other types of polyols.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com