Orica decarbonises chemicals, fertiliser and explosives production

Chemicals and explosives manufacturer Orica is to deploy tertiary emissions abatement technology at a second site – its Yarwun chemicals and ammonium nitrate facility in Gladstone, Queensland (pictured).

Orica expects to eliminate an estimated 200,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) annually once the project is complete.

The installation of two tertiary abatement reactors at Yarwun will eliminate the equivalent of approximately 50 per cent of the facility’s total greenhouse gas emissions – equivalent to taking 120,000 cars off the road.

It is estimated the project will reduce Australia’s overall industrial chemical sector emissions by four per cent1, and Queensland’s emissions for the same sector by approximately 16 per cent.

To celebrate these decarbonisation milestones, Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen joined Orica executives and officials at a ceremony in Gladstone.

Orica Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Gandhi said: “This milestone highlights Orica’s commitment to sustainability, to supporting our customers in achieving their sustainability goals and to our long-term support of the local Gladstone region.

“The federal parliament’s passage of safeguard reforms last year provided Orica with the investment certainty we needed to proceed with the extension of our decarbonisation strategy.

“This outcome demonstrates how the right policy settings can enable key corporate commitments and result in significant emissions reductions, even across hard-to-abate sectors.”

The installation of a first reactor at Yarwun was achieved safely, on time and on budget earlier this year, with the second reactor in the final stages of commissioning, to be operational by the end of September.

The installation follows the successful implementation of similar tertiary emissions abatement technology at Orica’s Kooragang Island facility in New South Wales, Australia, which is forecast to reduce Australia’s chemical industry emissions by 11 per cent.

Orica’s Yarwun facility supplies essential products to mining, agriculture and infrastructure customers throughout Australia and around the world, according to Orica.

This tertiary abatement will provide customers with lower carbon intensive products and enable the reduction of their Scope 3 emissions while supporting the overall decarbonisation goals of regional communities and economies.

Having invested to deliver significant reductions in net operational Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas, Orica emissions have been reduced by 22 per cent from 2019 baseline levels.

In addition to investing in low emissions technology, Orica is a strategic partner and shareholder in the neighbouring Alpha HPA manufacturing operations that produces high purity aluminia materials for use in lithium-ion batteries, LED lighting, and smartphone manufacturing.

Picure: Orica/Yarwun facility