Long-term thinking pays off for Radici
Polymers group Radici has said projects it began to put in place more than 15 years ago have helped it reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the group, from 700,000 tonnes per year of CO2-equivalent in 2011 to 200,000 tonnes in 2020, a reduction of more than 70%.
It said the biggest contribution to this reduction had come from actions it has taken at plants in Italy and Germany at which it produces adipic acid, from which it makes polyamide 66.
Production processes for making adipic acid typically release nitrous oxide as a by-product, which, if released into the atmosphere, has a greater greenhouse gas effect than carbon dioxide.
In 2004, Radici began working on projects to reduce the amount of nitrous oxide resulting from its processes and to reduce the release of the nitrous oxide that did form. The steps the group took included a three catalyst bed reactor, designed and patented by Radici itself. This decomposes nitrous oxide into nitrogen and oxygen, which cause no harm in the atmosphere. Other ideas have focused on decreasing the release of nitrous oxide.
