The 51st Excellent Environmental Equipment Award: 'Energy-Saving Heat Pump Ammonia Recovery System' Receives the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy Commissioner's Award
Kimura Chemical Plants Co., Ltd. has received the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy Commissioner's Award at the 51st Excellent Environmental Equipment Awards for its energy-saving heat pump ammonia recovery system. This system significantly reduces energy consumption and CO2 emissions by utilizing heat pump technology to recover ammonia from industrial wastewater, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional treatment methods.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 1, 2026 at 01:30
- 🔍 Collected: April 1, 2026 at 01:06
Kimura Chemical Plants Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "the Company") is pleased to announce that its 'Energy-Saving Heat Pump Ammonia Recovery System' (hereinafter "this product") has received the 'Agency for Natural Resources and Energy Commissioner's Award' at the 51st Excellent Environmental Equipment Awards, hosted by the Japan Society of Industrial Machinery Manufacturers. The award ceremony was held on March 25, 2026, followed by a presentation of the winning equipment.
Furthermore, this product also received the 'Energy Conservation Center, Japan Chairman's Award' in the Product/Business Model category at the 2024 Energy Conservation Grand Prize (hosted by The Energy Conservation Center, Japan), serving as further recognition of the originality, performance, economic efficiency, and future potential of our equipment.
[Image: Scene from the award ceremony held on Wednesday, March 25]
🔳 Overview of this Product
This product is a facility designed to recover and reuse ammonia from wastewater generated by chemical, food, and semiconductor factories. It consists of primary and secondary distillation columns, various condensers, a reboiler, and a heat pump. Wastewater is supplied to the primary distillation column after preheating; the resulting ammonia vapor is partially condensed in a heat recovery condenser and sent to the secondary distillation column for further purification. Finally, the ammonia is condensed and absorbed, being recovered as 25wt% aqueous ammonia. Meanwhile, the treated water is reused for heating and preheating before being discharged at a low concentration.
Unlike conventional steam stripping methods, this system utilizes a heat pump to recover and reuse waste heat, eliminating the need for external steam and achieving high efficiency. As a result, primary energy input can be reduced by approximately 81%, and CO2 emissions by approximately 83%.
Product Introduction Site: Heat Pump Ammonia Recovery System
[Image: 3D design model of the Energy-Saving Heat Pump Ammonia Recovery System]
🔳 Future Potential
While ammonia is widely used as a basic chemical, it is also discharged in large quantities at low concentrations in wastewater from flue gas denitrification processes, as well as the semiconductor and chemical fiber industries. As production volumes continue to rise both domestically and internationally, the importance of efficient recovery technology is increasing against the backdrop of stricter environmental standards and the movement toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
Moving forward, it is expected that this energy-saving heat pump ammonia recovery system will replace conventional, inefficient treatment methods such as combustion or dilution, as it does not emit CO2. The recovered and concentrated ammonia is expected to be utilized as a decarbonized fuel or hydrogen carrier.
Furthermore, as understanding of this technology grows among chemical, food, and semiconductor manufacturers, as well as engineering firms and trading companies, its adoption is expected to expand, leading to further advancements in performance, scale, explosion-proof capabilities, and cost reduction.
🔳 Company Overview
Kimura Chemical Plants Co., Ltd. is a comprehensive engineering company that contributes to the sustainability of the manufacturing industry and the creation of a sustainable society through resource circulation and low-environmental-impact energy supply. We possess industry-leading technical and R&D capabilities in energy conservation and CO2 emission reduction for distillation and evaporation equipment.
Company Name: Kimura Chemical Plants Co., Ltd.
Headquarters: 2-1-2 Kuise-Terajima, Amagasaki, Hyogo 660-8567, Japan
Founded: 1924
Representative: Yasumasa Kobayashi, Representative Director, Chairman and President
Business Description: Engineering business, Chemical machinery business, Energy and environment business
TEL: 06-6488-2501 (Main)
URL: https://www.kcpc.co.jp/
Furthermore, this product also received the 'Energy Conservation Center, Japan Chairman's Award' in the Product/Business Model category at the 2024 Energy Conservation Grand Prize (hosted by The Energy Conservation Center, Japan), serving as further recognition of the originality, performance, economic efficiency, and future potential of our equipment.
[Image: Scene from the award ceremony held on Wednesday, March 25]
🔳 Overview of this Product
This product is a facility designed to recover and reuse ammonia from wastewater generated by chemical, food, and semiconductor factories. It consists of primary and secondary distillation columns, various condensers, a reboiler, and a heat pump. Wastewater is supplied to the primary distillation column after preheating; the resulting ammonia vapor is partially condensed in a heat recovery condenser and sent to the secondary distillation column for further purification. Finally, the ammonia is condensed and absorbed, being recovered as 25wt% aqueous ammonia. Meanwhile, the treated water is reused for heating and preheating before being discharged at a low concentration.
Unlike conventional steam stripping methods, this system utilizes a heat pump to recover and reuse waste heat, eliminating the need for external steam and achieving high efficiency. As a result, primary energy input can be reduced by approximately 81%, and CO2 emissions by approximately 83%.
Product Introduction Site: Heat Pump Ammonia Recovery System
[Image: 3D design model of the Energy-Saving Heat Pump Ammonia Recovery System]
🔳 Future Potential
While ammonia is widely used as a basic chemical, it is also discharged in large quantities at low concentrations in wastewater from flue gas denitrification processes, as well as the semiconductor and chemical fiber industries. As production volumes continue to rise both domestically and internationally, the importance of efficient recovery technology is increasing against the backdrop of stricter environmental standards and the movement toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
Moving forward, it is expected that this energy-saving heat pump ammonia recovery system will replace conventional, inefficient treatment methods such as combustion or dilution, as it does not emit CO2. The recovered and concentrated ammonia is expected to be utilized as a decarbonized fuel or hydrogen carrier.
Furthermore, as understanding of this technology grows among chemical, food, and semiconductor manufacturers, as well as engineering firms and trading companies, its adoption is expected to expand, leading to further advancements in performance, scale, explosion-proof capabilities, and cost reduction.
🔳 Company Overview
Kimura Chemical Plants Co., Ltd. is a comprehensive engineering company that contributes to the sustainability of the manufacturing industry and the creation of a sustainable society through resource circulation and low-environmental-impact energy supply. We possess industry-leading technical and R&D capabilities in energy conservation and CO2 emission reduction for distillation and evaporation equipment.
Company Name: Kimura Chemical Plants Co., Ltd.
Headquarters: 2-1-2 Kuise-Terajima, Amagasaki, Hyogo 660-8567, Japan
Founded: 1924
Representative: Yasumasa Kobayashi, Representative Director, Chairman and President
Business Description: Engineering business, Chemical machinery business, Energy and environment business
TEL: 06-6488-2501 (Main)
URL: https://www.kcpc.co.jp/