German gas treatment specialist ReiCat has supplied its hydrogen recycling system to flavour and fragrance manufacturer Symrise.
The tech will enable the firm to clean up hydrogen that has picked up impurities during the production of ingredients for perfumes and nutritional and taste enhancers.
The system works by capturing the exhaust stream and purifying it in a complex multi-stage process before the hydrogen is cycled back into production.
“With our hydrogen recycling systems, we make an important contribution to the circular economy in industrial processes,” said Michael Höfling, CEO of ReiCat.
Symrise purchased its first system from ReiCat in 2017 to decarbonise its US site. The latest deal will see the tech installed at its facility in Granada, Spain.
“Projects like this demonstrate that hydrogen recycling is an indispensable complement to power-to-X,” added Höfling.
3D model of ReiCat’s large-scale hydrogen recycling system ©ReiCat
The Symrise Group plans to become entirely greenhouse gas neutral by 2045. Around 80% of its emissions are created during the production and transport of its substances.
This includes scent compositions for perfumes and colognes and taste and nutrition solutions for sauces, ready-made meals, and instant noodles.
In a 2024 corporate report, the company outlined plans to replace natural gas in its exhaust air incinerators with hydrogen once the infrastructure is available. It plans to use carbon capture and storage to reduce any emissions that cannot be avoided.
Speaking to gasworld earlier this year, ReiCat COO Sophia Höfling made the case for its hydrogen purification and recycling tech. “A gas might leave the plant at high purity, but by the time it reaches the end-user it could be contaminated in various ways,” she said.
“Our recycling systems let companies recover up to 98% of their process gas, which is not used up but only contaminated in the process, cutting costs and emissions.”
Read more:Pure play: When industrial gases need to be squeaky clean