In S. Korea, OCI and POSCO Chemical signed a joint agreement to produce electronic-grade and industrial hydrogen peroxide using coke oven gas (COG), a byproduct of steel-making processes.

The joint venture is scheduled to go into operation in Q2 of 2020, with 49% of its shares owned by OCI and 51% by POSCO Chemical respectively. The two companies plan to build a hydrogen peroxide plant on 42,000m² land in OCI’s Gwangyang Plant with a total annual production capacity of 50,000 tons of hydrogen peroxide, targeting commercial production starting 2022. The COG will be supplied from POSCO’s Gwangyang steel plant.

Coke oven gas is the by-product of the pyrolysis of coal—the basic process for coke production for the blast furnace process. One of the chemical components of COG is hydrogen (H₂), which can be extracted and processed to produce hydrogen peroxide.

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂0₂) is a robust oxidizer commonly used as a disinfectant or bleach. Due to its environmentally friendly properties, it is widely used in soil remediation and wastewater treatment.

The semiconductor industry uses hydrogen peroxide for cleaning silicon wafers, removal of photoresists and to etch metallic copper on printed circuit boards.

With the establishment of JV between the two companies, OCI says it will be able to secure high-quality source materials in a more stable and cost-effective means, and advance both the level of competitiveness and status in the market for the hydrogen peroxide business currently in operation.