Asahi Glass | Measures for Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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Measures for Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Calculation of the Carbon Footprint Associated with the Manufacture and Use of Products (Europe)

*1 The life of products is uniformly set at 30 years except for some products.

AGC Glass Europe (AGEU) collected data relating to the amount of CO₂ emitted from the manufacture of its products as well as relating to the amount of CO₂ emissions reduced through the use of its products, in order to calculate its carbon footprint. As a result of making this calculation, the following fact has been revealed: for the amount of CO₂ emissions associated with the manufacture of the company's products, 73% was emitted from the plants, 8% through the transportation of raw materials and products, and 18% from the production of raw materials. For the amount of CO₂ emissions reduced by the use of AGEU products, 95% or more of the reduction is attributable to heat-insulating and solar control glass products, which provide higher energy conservation performance than the traditional glass products such as single glazing or simple double glazing glass. The amount of CO₂ emissions reduced by the use of AGEU products is seven to nine times larger than the amount of CO₂ emitted from the manufacture of its products. AGEU will continue to improve the performance of its heat-insulating glass products while improving the accuracy of the carbon foot print calculation model.

"Going Green" Campaign with the Aim to Reduce Energy Consumption by Every Employee (Europe)

Symbol of "Going Green" campaign

AGC Glass Europe (AGEU), which manufactures and sells raw and processed glass for the construction, automotive and solar industries, has launched an environmental campaign called "Going Green" (symbolized by a green tree) in order to reduce energy consumption by every employee. This campaign is also aimed at making every employee aware that environment is everyone's business. Therefore "Going Green Forum" was implemented on the intranet so that all employees could share energy savings ideas with each other. Moreover, there are task forces underway working on projects such as mobility and IT. "Going Green News" is also regularly published, showing examples of good ideas for reducing energy consumption coming from our plants. Examples of ideas are; production of electricity with waste heat from the furnaces, recovery of heat from air compressors to produce hot water for showers, and many more.

Installing Photovoltaic Panels to Produce 3,200 MWh of Green Electricity Each Year (Italy)

Photovoltaic panels on the roof of the Cuneo plant

AGC Glass Europe (AGEU) has been implementing the Going Green project with the participation of all employees. One of the main objectives of this energy conservation project is to increase the percentage of green electricity consumed by its plants. At the end of 2010, AGEU installed large-scale photovoltaic panels, the cover glass of which was made by the AGC Group, on almost the entire surface of the roof of its Cuneo plant in Northern Italy, where solar irradiation is particularly high in Europe. During the peak sunshine hours about 3 MW of electricity can be generated and on an annual basis about 3,200 MWh of green electricity can be produced by the system. This yearly electric generating capacity corresponds to about 900 times the amount of electricity consumed by an average European household.*2 AGEU will further promote the use of green electricity in the future.

*2 The data from http://www.energy.eu/

Reducing Energy Consumption in the Manufacturing Process

Recycling CO₂ emitted from the manufacturing process

AGC Chemicals Company has been recovering and recycling CO₂ emitted from the glass manufacturing process by using caustic soda, one of our major products.
We recover low level CO₂ in the gas exhausted from the glass manufacturing process and mix it with caustic soda to synthesize soda ash, a material for glass. By adopting this synthesis method, we contribute to reducing CO₂ emissions in the glass manufacturing process. In addition, using synthesized soda ash instead of the natural soda ash now in use allows us to reduce CO₂ emissions from the procurement and manufacturing of soda ash by approximately 20%.
In 2009, we completed the necessary tests and quality checks at the Asahi Glass Kashima Plant and are now examining the feasibility of introducing this synthesis method across AGC Group.

Recycling CO2 emitted from the manufacturing process

Making the Practical Use of the "In-Flight Melting Technology" Feasible to Halve CO₂ Emissions

Making the Practical Use of the "In-Flight Melting Technology" Feasible to Halve CO2 Emissions

*3 Commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), research has been conducted to identify the equipment necessary for the practical use of the technology and to study possible glass quality and the feasibility of mass production by 2013.

The AGC Group aims to halve CO₂ emissions from glass melting, which is a process that consumes a lot of energy in glass manufacturing, by changing the manufacturing method itself. As part of this effort, we have been participating in a national project to develop in-flight melting technology.*3 In-flight melting is a method to melt granular glass materials in a high temperature environment produced by gas/oxy combustion flames and plasma, which could reach up to 10,000℃. This method enables the instant completion of the melting process, and by adopting this method we can also substantially downsize the melting tank. We endeavored to develop the technology for each type of glass to be manufactured, such as general-purpose glass for buildings, etc. and LCD glass. As a result in fiscal 2010, it is expected that we will be able to melt the materials of general-purpose glass with only 1,200 kcal per kilogram in a small furnace with the production capacity of one ton/day. This is the world's smallest energy use for this furnace size.

Effects of the Total Oxygen Combustion Method

Mechanism of the total oxygen combustion method

Asahi Glass introduced the total oxygen combustion method to the Keihin Plant in 2001, which was a first in flat glass production in Japan. This method sends only oxygen to a glass melting furnace instead of air, which contains a large amount of nitrogen (an element unrelated to combustion). Oxygen and atomized fuel oil are jetted in through a fuel injection port installed on the left and right sides of a glass melting furnace, as shown in the figure on the right, to scatter the fuel-oxygen mixture for a uniform heating of the furnace interior.
This method was employed to reduce the generation of substances that have an environmental impact, such as NOx, SOx, and dust and soot. It is particularly effective in reducing NOx because the combustion gas contains almost no nitrogen, thus helping to curb NOx generation itself.
The effectiveness of the total oxygen combustion method has been well proven since its introduction at the Glass Department of the Keihin Plant of Asahi Glass. In fact, NOx, SOx, and dust and soot emissions per unit glass production were reduced approximately 90%, 70% and 80%*4, respectively, from prior to the introduction of the method. Similarly, energy consumption and CO₂ emissions per unit glass production were also reduced about 30%*4 each.
The AGC Group has adopted this technology, which has proved to help reduce environmental impact, at some of its glass production facilities operated in Asia.

Results of Asahi Glass Keihin Plant

Changes in NOx emissions per unit production of glass product*4		Changes in SOx emissions per unit production of glass product*4
Changes in dust and soot emissions per unit production of glass product*4		Comparison of emissions and energy consumption per unit production of glass product*4
*4 Data as of 2002

Total oxygen combustion method using Hot-oxy

The total oxygen combustion using Hot-oxy is an upgraded version. This method improves energy efficiency by preheating oxygen that will be used in combustion by using the heat trapped in the exhaust gas released from glass furnaces. Compared with using a conventional furnace, the energy efficiency can be calculated for an improvement of as much as 19% under the total oxygen combustion method, and by 27% with Hot-oxy. Total oxygen combustion is employed in Asahi Glass Keihin Plant and in China, while Hot-Oxy is employed at plant in France.

Reducing CO₂ emissions by 140,000 tons a year by introducing a new gas turbine (Japan)

Gas turbine power generator newly introduced to the Chiba Plant

Asahi Glass Chiba Plant has replaced its heavy oil-powered gas turbine power generator with a natural gas-powered one to substantially reduce soot, dust, and SOx generation. For the new gas turbine, an aircraft engine is used for higher thermal efficiency and more advanced combustion control, which results in an outstanding reduction in NOx generation. In addition, the plant can now make full use of the natural gas it exploits and has substantially reduced its environmental impact.

CO₂ emissions: 25% reduction (approx. 140,000 tons/year)
Energy intensity: 8% reduction (energy conservation of 21,000 kl/year in oil equivalent)
SOx: 92% reduction (approx. 22,000 Nm³/year)
NOx: 49% reduction (approx. 108,000 Nm³/year)
Soot and dust: 62% reduction (approx. 10 tons/year)

Reducing CO₂ emissions by about 14,500 tons per year through the effective use of hydrogen generated from brine electrolysis (Japan)

Hydrogen boiler contributing to substantial CO2 emission reductions

Hydrogen boiler contributing to substantial CO₂ emission reductions

Asahi Glass Kashima Plant used to use part of the hydrogen generated from brine electrolysis as boiler fuel. The electrolysis process was usually conducted during the night for manufacturing caustic soda and other products, and not all of this large volume of hydrogen thus produced was utilized as boiler fuel. Furthermore, hydrogen had to be supplied to the equipment at a certain fixed pressure level. To adjust the pressure, some of the generated hydrogen was discharged into the air. To solve this problem, the plant installed a hydrogen holder for pressure adjustment and reduced the discharge of hydrogen into the air to zero. At the same time, it introduced a new hydrogen boiler with high processing performance to enable all the generated hydrogen to be used as boiler fuel. As a result, the plant saved energy at a rate of about 6,350 kiloliters per year in oil equivalent, thereby reducing its CO₂ emissions by approximately 14,500 tons annually.

In recognition of this initiative, the plant received the ECCJ Chairman's Award at the National Contest of Energy Conservation Successful Cases for fiscal 2008.

Saving Energy by Improving the Operating Efficiency of Air Conditioners in the Computer Room (Japan)

Temperature distribution in the computer room before and after implementing the measures (simulation)

Asahi Glass's Information Systems Center reduced the amount of energy consumed by air conditioners in the computer room by 23% from the fiscal 2008 level in fiscal 2009. In accordance with an increase in the number of servers installed in the computer room, the amount of heat exhausted from these devices had rapidly increased; the energy used by the air conditioners had accounted for more than 40% of all the energy used in the computer room. In response, the center implemented measures to improve air flow in the room and optimize the number of air conditioners to be actually used in the room. As a result, the monthly amount of energy used for the air conditioners has decreased from 79,000 kWh to 61,000 kWh, which will in turn reduce CO₂ emissions by 120 tons annually. From now on, the center will collect and analyze more data about the operation of the equipment in order to use the most appropriate number of air conditioners at the most appropriate temperature settings, thereby achieving the target of reducing energy consumption by 30% from the fiscal 2008 level to save more energy.

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