INDUSTRY
&
BUSINESS
Geismar to Get Another Chemicals Complex Ammonia plant will be first step in Allied's $100 million programpart of rapid pace of chemical plant construction there Geismar, La., is in for another major chemical plant construction program. Allied Chemical's plans include a 350,000 ton-a-year anhydrous ammonia plant to be built there as the first step in a $100 million program to develop Geismar into one of the company's "largest and most diversified production centers." The plant will bring Allied's total ammonia capacity to about 1.3 million tons a year. Chemical plant construction is proceeding at a rapid pace at Geismar, which is on the Mississippi, 20 miles south of Baton Rouge. One of the big factors encouraging chemical producers to build plants in Louisiana is that the state is giving tax credits on its natural gas severance tax, which is 2.3 cents per 1000 cubic feet. The tax credit amounts to 3 mills per 1000 cubic feet this year, and will amount to 9 mills in 1966, and 1 cent in 1967. The credit goes against local taxes. Louisiana also offers a 10-year tax exemption plan on new plants and expansions. In this case, the state would grant a tax exemption to qualified applicants from any industry. Allied's ammonia plant will have supporting units for urea, nitric acid, and phosphoric acid. The company will make a full line of fertilizers, including phosphatic fertilizers, anhydrous ammonia, solid nitrogenous products, and ammonium phosphates. Allied has three other ammonia plants in operation—Hopewell, Va. (400,000 tons a year); La Platte, Neb. (200,000 tons a year); and South Point, Ohio (320,000 tons a year). Process. Construction of the plant will begin in July of this year, and will be completed early in 1967. M. W. Kellogg is the contractor for the ammonia plant, which will use a Kelloggdesigned process. The urea unit will be built by Vulcan Cincinnati and will use a process that Allied licensed from Vulcan. Contractors for the other supporting units will be chosen later. Included at the site will be storage tanks of 10 million gallon capacity, 26
C&EN
APRIL
5,
1965
Many Other Compainies Have Plants at Geismar Company
Product
Annual
Allied Chemical
Ethylene
400 million lb. (by '67)
Borden Chemical
Acetic acid Ammonia Methanol Urea Vinyl acetate
67 million lb. (in mid-'66) 350,000 tons (by late '66) 80 million gal. (by late '65)
Monochem (U.S. RubberBorden)
Acetylene Vinyl monomers
120 million lb. (by late *65) 235 million lb. (late '65)
Morton Chemical
Hydrogen chloride
Rubicon (U.S. Rubber-ICI)
Aniline Diphenylamine Isocyanates
12 million lb. (by mid-'65) 25 million lb. (by mid-'65)
Shell Chemical
Ethylene oxide Primary alcohols
100 million lb. (by late '66) 150 million lb. (by late '66)
U.S. Rubber
Ethylene-propylene terpolymer Hydrazine
32 million lb.
Caustic soda Chlorine
165,000 tons 160,000 tons
Ethylene glycol Ethylene oxide Isocyanates
145 million lb. (late '66) 35 million lb. (late '65)
Wyandotte
docks on the Mississippi, and rail and road transportation facilities. The plant will "incorporate the most advanced technology, including digital-computerized controls." However, Allied says that it has not yet decided whose computer equipment it will use. Its South Point, Ohio, plant uses Bunker Ramo digital computers. Monsanto also uses computers to run its ammonia plants at Luling, La., and El Dorado, Ark. The company uses a TRW Computers Co. (now Bunker Ramo) RW-300 computer at Luling, and a TRW-330 computer at El Dorado. Natural gas for Allied's plant will be supplied by the company's Union
Capacity
175,000 tons (by late '66) 75 million lb. (in mid-'66)
33 million lb. (by mid-'65)
3 million lb.
Texas petroleum division. The division is the result of a merger between Allied and Union Texas Natural Gas (C&EN, Nov. 27, 1961, page 22). Allied planned to build a petrochemical complex at Geismar in 1961, but never has gone ahead with those plans. However, in 1963, it bought Texas Gas Corp.'s petrochemical plant at Winnie, Tex. (C&EN, May 6, 1963, page 19). The plant makes liquefied petroleum gas and motor fuels. Allied is already building an ethylene plant at Geismar. It will have a capacity of at least 400 million pounds a year, when completed in 1967. Wyandotte has contracted to buy some of the output from the plant.
Wyandotte has its own operations at Geismar, too. It has an 85 million pound-a-year ethylene oxide plant, an ethylene glycol plant, and two chlo rine-caustic soda plants with a total annual capacity for 160,000 tons of chlorine and 165,000 tons of caustic soda. In addition, Wyandotte is building at Geismar a 35 million pound-a-year isocyanate plant and another ethylene oxide plant with a capacity of 60 million pounds a year; both are due on stream this year. Joint Ventures. U.S. Rubber has two joint ventures in the works at Geismar. One (Rubicon Chemicals, Inc.) is with Britain's Imperial Chem ical Industries; the other (Monochem, Inc.) is with Borden Chemical. Rubi con is building plants to make isocya nate (25 million pounds a year), ani line (33 million pounds a year), and diphenylamine (12 million pounds a year). All of Rubicon's plants and facilities for making intermediates will be on stream this year. Monochem has a vinyl chloride plant with a capacity of 150 million pounds (which is being expanded to 225 million pounds) and an 80 million pound-a-year acetylene plant (ex panding to 120 million pounds a year). Both plants are scheduled for completion by late this year. Supply ing Monochem with anhydrous hy drogen chloride for vinyl chloride is Morton Chemical—also at Geismar. Independent. In addition to the Monochem joint venture, U.S. Rubber and Borden Chemical have independ ent facilities at Geismar. U.S. Rub ber operates a 32 million pound-ayear ethylene-propylene terpolymer plant there, and is considering dou bling its capacity. The company also makes hydrazine (3 million pounds a year) as well as rubber antioxidants and maleic hydrazide. Borden's present operations include a 40 million pound-a-year plant to produce methanol and a 75 million pound-a-year vinyl acetate plant. The company is doubling methanol capac ity as well as building a 67 million pound-a-year acetic acid plant, a 350,000 ton-a-year ammonia plant, and a 175,000 ton-a-year urea plant. All these expansions are due on stream this year. Shell Chemical is just moving into Geismar. By late 1966, it will have on stream a 150 million pound-a-year de tergent-range primary alcohols plant and a 100 million pound-a-year ethyl ene oxide plant.
Supplies Tight in Fertilizer Markets Big sales season opens amid shortages in phosphate and possibly nitrogen materials Another record-breaking season is shaping up for fertilizer materials. Despite a late-season opening and shortages of phosphate materials, con sumption of primary plant nutrients will be up sharply. Just how much producers can't agree. Estimates range all the way from 4 to 13 7c The average estimate runs about 8%. In the fertilizer year ended June 30, 1964, U.S. farmers used about 10.7 million tons of nutrients, measured as Ν, Ρ2θ 5 , and K 2 0 . Again this season, nitrogen materials will show the big gest increase, climbing 10% to 4.8 million tons, as N. Both potash and phosphate should be up about 6%— potash to 3 million tons ( K 2 0 ) and phosphate to 3.7 million tons ( P 2 0 5 ) . Demand for fertilizer this season is up sharply in all parts of the country— by as much as 15% in parts of the Midwest. Because of the healthy de mand, some producers see moderateto-extreme product shortages in the offing. Recent bad weather, which has delayed the season, could further increase the high demand to put pres sure on supply channels, particularly transportation and storage. Canadian Potash. Of the three nu trients, potash appears to be in the best supply situation this season. Many producers feel that, in sharp
contrast to last year's shortages, there will be "enough to go around" this year. One reason is the growing in flux of Canadian potash. Shipments of potash from Canada to the U.S. during the past fertilizer season were small, amounting to only 400,000 tons (as K 2 0 ) . Shipments are up this season, though, and may pass 500,000 tons. (Much of the balance of Canadian potash is going to the Far East.) Increased capacity is the reason. International Minerals & Chemical has boosted annual capac ity of its Esterhazy, Sask., plant from 1.2 to 1.6 million tons. And Kalium Chemicals, Ltd., a joint venture of Armour and Pittsburgh Plate Glass, now has its plant on stream. Capac ity of Kalium's plant, at Moosejaw, Sask., is 600,000 tons annually. Nitrogen will be in tight supply, primarily because of the delayed sea son. The biggest market for nitrogen fertilizers is in the Midwest—particu larly Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. These states have been hard hit by snowy, unseasonable weather. When the season is delayed, farm ers have a shorter span of time in which to put down fertilizer. About 85%) of agricultural ammonia is used in the first six months of the year. Any delay in this period puts a great
DELAYS. Farmers apply fertilizer in the first half of the year. Unseasonable weather is delaying them this year, putting strain on supply channels APRIL
5, 1965
C&EN
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