Sumitomo Chemical Enters New Agreement to License its Hydrochloric Acid Oxidation Technology to Mitsubishi Chemical
Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. announced that it has entered into an agreement to license its proprietary hydrochloric acid oxidation process to Mitsubishi Chemical Co., Ltd.
This process takes hydrogen chloride co-produced in the manufacturing process for urethane and other products that use chlorine as a raw material and converts it into chlorine using a proprietary high-activity catalyst developed in-house by Sumitomo. The process was awarded the Green Sustainable Chemistry Prize last year for being both energy-efficient and environmentally friendly, and has been acknowledged for its innovation both in Japan and overseas.
Mitsubishi had developed a cost-competitive melt process for the manufacture of polycarbonate, but sought to boost cost-competitiveness further by reducing environmental impact. After conducting comparative studies of various technologies for converting hydrogen chloride to chlorine, Mitsubishi decided to adopt the Sumitomo process as the one that best met its needs.
Sumitomo licensed the process for the first time in 2002, and intends to continue actively licensing it both in Japan and overseas to promote green chemistry that minimizes environmental impact through the efficient utilization of resources.
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