| Solvay (Brussels) and Takuma (Amagasaki) signed a distribution agreement to market sodium bicarbonate for purifying combustion gases in Japan. The agreement, which enters into effect immediately, has an initial duration of three years. In the framework of the agreement, Takuma will market Solvay's Bicar® sodium bicarbonate to be used in smoke-cleansing systems for municipal solid waste incineration plants in Japan, while Solvay will supply the product as well as technical information on the Neutrec® process. Takuma decided to enter into a distribution agreement with Solvay following successful tests carried out in two municipal solid waste incineration units in Japan earlier this year. "Neutrec® demonstrates the contribution of chemistry to sustainable development. We anticipate that our alliance with a prominent partner such as Takuma will be benefit the quality of the environment in Japan as well as our respective businesses", said Olivier Monfort, manager of Solvay's Soda ash & Derivatives. "The Neutrec® technology is already a proven success in Europe. In Italy, for instance, some 30% of the total volume of incinerated household waste is processed in plants using Solvay's Neutrec® process", he added. "Takuma, which is eager to develop next generation incinerators, is very much interested in the use of sodium bicarbonate in its new dry method flue gas cleaning system. We are convinced that Bicar® is much more powerful than other dry chemicals in removing hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sulfur oxide (SOx) from flue gases. Furthermore, it is more economical than most wet systems in total costs - even if the recycling aspect of the Neutrec® process is not feasible at the moment in Japan", said Shizuo Kataoka, General Manager of Takuma's Energy and Environmental Development Division. The Neutrec® process considerably outperforms the very stringent environmental standards laid out in the European Union's Hazardous and Municipal Waste Incinerators Directives. The technology is designed to minimise the emission of acid compounds, heavy metals, dioxins and furans into the atmosphere. It relies on the dry injection of sodium bicarbonate powder into the combustion gases. After purification, the sodium products resulting from neutralisation of the acids can be recycled within the chemical industry. The primary markets for the process are the incineration of household wastes, hospital wastes and special industrial waste. | 
