INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Alberta Aims To Become Specialty Chemicals Producer Canada's petrochemical producing province, its eye on chemical upgrading, has launched program to attract specialty chemical firms The Canadian resource-rich province of Alberta wants its chemical industry to be more than a basic petrochemicals producer. Like many areas blessed with abundant natural resources, Alberta is trying to upgrade these resources, rather than ship them out of the province with little or no value added. As far as chemicals are concerned, Alberta officials consider the province's existing—and substantial— petrochemical base as only the first step in the upgrading process. Now, they want to build upon that existing strength and maximize Alberta's potential to produce higher-valueadded products. One way to do this, of course, is to increase the existing petrochemical base and make more of the same products that already are produced there. The other is to move further downstream along the chemical product chain. Alberta intends to follow both routes. The province's basic petrochemical expansion slowed dramatically during the economic doldrums of the past two years. Now it is beginning to show renewed signs of life. This fall, for instance, Alberta Gas Ethylene will bring on stream its second h u g e e t h y l e n e p l a n t at Joffre—the 680,000 metric-ton-peryear AGE II. Several other major petrochemical plants also will come on stream next year. But provincial officials want even more chemical upgrading. They 24
June 4, 1984 C&EN
have launched a program to attract companies to the province that can give them that upgrading. Basically, what Alberta is trying to do is to develop a specialty chemicals industry in the province. But, since specialties mean different things to different people, Lee F. Doty, director of the chemicals section in the Alberta Ministry of Economic Development, prefers to call w h a t he is after noncommodity chemicals. "From our perspective of world-scale ethylene, methanol, and ammonia plants, they look like noncommodity products to us," he says. In fact, this effort has been going on for some time. Doty's group has been assessing the strengths and weaknesses of Alberta as a location for a noncommodity chemical company. He thinks the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses.
More than a dozen product potential specialty chemica Herbicides Alkylamines Halogenated intermediates Methyl chloride Hydrazine Phosgene Chlorobenzenes Specialty explosives products Pentaerythritol tetranitrate Hexamine Formaldehyde derivatives Hexamine Paraformaldehyde Surfactants and oil field chemicals Ethoxylates Sulfonates Tall oil derivatives Tall oil fatty acids Cellulosic polymers CMC (carboxymethylcellulose) Polyvinyl alcohol and derivatives
Alberta is ripe for producing these products Pesticides Chemicals for explosives Surfactants Oil field and mining chemicals Specialty polymers Products from waste streams Chemicals from sulfur Chemicals from potash
Nevertheless, relatively few noncommodity chemical producers have moved into the province. Those that have are primarily blenders. "There hasn't been much," Doty admits. Now Doty's group has changed its tactics and he thinks it has a better chance of success. Simply, the
eas have been identified for production in Alberta Ethylenediamine derivatives EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) Carbamate Specialty styrenics Styrene-butadiene ABS (acrykxiitrile-butadiene-styrene) Expandable beads Hydrocarbon resins Dicyclopentadiene Sulfur compounds Xanthates Mercaptans Thiocarbamates Caustic potash Terpenes and derivatives Pinenes Fermentation products Citric acid MSG (monosodium glutamate)
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