Air Products Wins Korean Oxy-Fuels Contract

Air Products has won a contract from leading South Korean glass and construction material manufacturer KCC Corp. to supply oxygen and oxy-fuel combustion equipment for a new glass fiber line at Sejong. The additional line is scheduled to go on stream in 2019.

The US gases giant will provide an integrated system that includes its Cleanfire burner technology as well as a Prism vacuum swing adsorption oxygen generator. According to Air Products, its Cleanfire burner can reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by more than 80%, bring energy savings of 10-35% and increase productivity by about 25%.

The agreement follows another contract win in South Korea earlier last month. Samsung Electronics selected Air Products to supply additional gaseous nitrogen and hydrogen to its semiconductor plant in Giheung.

Air Products will build a new air separation unit, multiple hydrogen plants and pipelines to meet the increased demand. The facilities are scheduled to go into operation in 2020.

The company already supplies many of Samsung’s global operations, including its semiconductor cluster in the northern region of South Korea that spans Giheung, Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek.

Air Products has been implementing a multi-phase expansion project in Pyeongtaek to support Samsung’s multi-billion dollar fabrication plant. The electronics giant is investing a total of 30 trillion South Korean won ($27 billion) by 2021 to expand the plant, which it said is the largest single semiconductor fabrication facility in the industry.