In recent years, initiatives to protect the environment have become increasingly important around the world. We have entered an era where the environmental response has become vital to the continuation of business, and China — sometimes called the "world's factory"— is no exception.
Air pollution is a form of environmental degradation that is being prevented through the use of catalysts, and Japanese catalyst makers already have decades of development experience. TANAKA Precious Metals (TANAKA), which has been manufacturing and selling exhaust gas purification catalysts since 1995, is now planning a full-fledged entry into the Chinese catalyst market.
"The country has many facilities that require significant quantities of catalysts, such as chemical plants and large factories. At the same time, China's environmental regulations are becoming more stringent, so the demand for high-performance catalysts is expected to grow," says Keiji Murayama, who oversees catalyst product sales for TANAKA.
China began to implement environmental policies from the mid-2000s, but this effort became more full-fledged under the nation's 13th five-year plan, introduced in 2016. Today, strict environmental regulations are in place with regard to pollution of the air, water, and soil.
"In January 2016, China introduced strict penalties for air pollution in particular, targeting companies responsible for accidents involving large-scale air pollution," Murayama says. "Until then, the main emissions restricted were nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx), but companies are now required to abide by restrictions on emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), too. Demand for high-performance exhaust gas purification catalysts is expected to increase in the future even among relatively small-scale factories."
How high-performance catalysts reduce fuel consumption and environmental impact
The aim of an exhaust gas purification catalyst is, as the name suggests, to purify harmful exhaust substances. It does this by efficiently breaking them down into water and carbon dioxide. Using catalysts means that less fuel is required to maintain temperatures necessary for decomposition, which in turn helps reduce costs and environmental impact.
The fundamental mechanism of an exhaust gas purification catalyst is shown below:
Exhaust gas purification catalysts use nano-sized particles of precious metals such as platinum and palladium for catalysis. These precious metals are used to coat the surfaces of the base materials, which are formed into pellet shapes or honeycomb structures. When substances targeted by emissions regulations pass through these materials, they come into contact with the fine particles of precious metals and are purified through a chemical reaction. Thus, the greater the surface area of the base materials, the higher the performance of the catalyst.
"Our catalyst uses metal honeycomb material, allowing for a greater surface area than a ceramic catalyst," Murayama says. "Another one of our strengths is the technology we have established to evenly coat the surface of the material with particles of precious metals, producing a high-performance, durable catalyst."
Familiarity with handling precious metals is a strength unique to precious metal manufacturers.
TANAKA has independently developed and produced the precious metal compounds that serve as raw material for creating precious metal particles, so it can select the optimal compounds for each substance targeted by emissions regulations. Another advantage for TANAKA is its ability to handle the entire process itself, right through to recycling end-of-use catalysts.
Developing competitive catalysts also contributes to the environment
Murayama points to chemical plants and fuel cells as the two areas TANAKA will focus on in the Chinese market.
"Chemical plants are already introducing catalysts manufactured in Europe," he says. "If we can provide competitive products, we believe there will be opportunity for us as well. Fuel cells are also expected to become more dynamic. We can provide multiple types of catalysts for fuel-cell systems, including steam-reforming catalysts and preferential oxidation (PROX) catalysts, in addition to combustion catalysts."
Regarding the future direction of product development, Murayama offers the following observation:
"The key to our future will be to use our knowledge as a precious metal manufacturer to develop catalysts that can maintain high performance and durability even if the quantity of precious metals used is reduced. Achieving this will benefit the global environment at the same time. Moving forward, we hope to continue contributing to the realization of a sustainable society through product development."
Learn more about how TANAKA's technologies can help with sustainability efforts here.
This post was created by TANAKA Precious Metals and Insider Studios
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