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OAR Box 1872 

Prepped by Keeia Richards 

Document Number: 

21)11-1-70 

Docket Number: 

A-90-19 

Printed 11/26/2008 8:51:49 AM Sheet 21 of 204 
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A-90-19 

III "70 

ICI LEAPS INTO CFC 

SUBSTITUTES 

Jhe rush to get into into the market 

for chlorofluorocarbon substitutes 

continues apace with ICI Americas' 

(Wilmington) move to build a $184-

million plant at St. Gabriel, LA to produce HCF-134a. a replacement for CFC12 in refrigerant units and car air conditioners. Construction will begin next 

year for first-quarter 1993 start-up. 

"We're going inlo this reasonably 

blind with respect to the demand situation," says ICI commercial director 

Anthony Mash. But the intention, he 

explains, is to capitalize on automakers' 

tentative plans to switch from CFCs to 

HFC-134a in air conditioning units for 

the 1993 or 1994 model year. HFC134a, which contains hydrogen but no 

chlorine, breaks down chemically before reaching the stratospheric ozone 

layer. 

Preliminary results of toxicity tests 

presented in late September by the 

Program for Alternative Fluorocarbon 

Toxicity Testing (PAFT)—a group of 

CFC makers who conducted the research—show the three leading CFC 

alternatives. HCFC-123,HFC-134a.and 

HCFC-14 lb. exhibit no significant signs 

of toxicity. According to PAFT, nobirth 

defects or unusual irritation to the skin 

or eyes resulted from exposure to the 

compounds, and they should not present any serious health effects in the 

workplace. "Repeated exposure to the 

products at extremely high levels 

showed overall mild effects similar to 

those demonstrated by CFCs," says 

PAFT. The compounds are expected to 

show no significant adverse effects in 

carcinogen tests, but these will not be 

complete until 1992 or 1993. 

ICI becomes the second major CFC 

producer to plan a full-scale production plan! for alternatives to CFCs, set 

for phaseout under the Montreal Protocol. Du Pont announced plans last year 

for a similar plant in Corpus Christi, 

TX. 

ICI Americas chairman Ben H. 

Lochtenbergsays the Louisiana site was 

chosen for access to international shipping lanes and the state's "favorable 

attitude toward business investment." 

The CFC alternative will be marketed 

under the tradename Klea and aimed 

primarily at the auto air conditioning 

market, he adds. 

ICI would not give specific capacity 

estimations nor comment on progress 

being made in perfecting the HFC-134a 

production process. The company further declines to say what waste products the new plant will emit into the air. 

water, and soil. But Lochtenberg says 

ICI is committed to meeting all state 

and federal environmental laws. 

The ICI chief is confident HFC-134a 

is "the material of choice to replace 

CFCs." He says the firm is working with 

customers and potential customers to 

redesign equipment such as compressors to accept HFC-134a; it already 

markets lubricants to help adapt exist420 

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CHEMICALWEEK PRICE SERVICE 

Month ago - Aug. 403.0 

Year ago - Sept. '88 387.8 

Current week - Sept. 29 403.1 

Previous week - Sept. 22 403.3 

7

____-i 

SEP O G NOV DEC JAN FE8 MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG 

Monthly dam US Bureau ol Labor Siat&iics 

Lochtenberg: the material of choice.' 

ing equipment. It is too early to tell 

exactly how much HFC-134a will cost 

to produce, notes John W. Beckitt, the 

company's business manager for ( 

CONRAD B. MACKERRON 

in Wash r 

VCM/EDC 

DEAL FOR 

GOODRICH 

Westlake Monomers, part of lino 

Westlake Group (Houston), has entered 

into a definitive agreement to buy 

BFGoodrich's (Akron. OH) vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and ethylene 

dichloride (EDC) plant at CalvriK.i v. 

KY. Goodrich was forced to unload the 

unit for antitrust reasons, and at one 

point Sterling Chemicals planned to 

buy it, though the deal fizzled (CIV. 

July 19. p. 13). 

Most EDC is used to make VCM, 

which goes into prndmoim; polyvinyl 

chloride (PVC) resins, After the 

Goodrich will retain an undisclosed 

amount of EDC capacity and 1.3 billion lbs/year of VCM capacity at its 

LaPorte, TX plant. The firm plans to 

buy "a significant portion of the output" of the Calvert City plant. wlii< h 

has capacity for 1 billion lbs/year of 

VCM and will be run at 100% operating rale. 

Westlake's Taiwan-based ownerChina General Plastics—has almul 30 

years experience with VCM and PVC 

resins in the Far East, but the Goodrich 

unit will mark itsentrde inlo US V( !M 

and EDC markets, says Louis A Ross, 

planning and business development 

October 11. 1989'Chemicafweak 9 
P.3 
P.4 

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NEWS 

vice president at Westlake. The unit 

will also soak up ethylene from a 1-

billion lb/year plant being built by 

Westlake Petrochemicals at LakeCharles. LA. Occidental Chemical president and chief operating officer J. Roger 

Hirl adds lhat China General Plastics 

may be able to use the VCM. 

The 9-billion lb/year U.S. VCM 

market has been flat this y_aj. says 

Hirl. Heattribulesthat tohigh industry 

operating rates and the lack of any new 

capacity coming on stream. But according to jack Doerr. of the ethylene/ 

propyleneconsultant firm International 

PC (Houston), prices have eonethrough 

sojTie_er25iQj] because inventories built 

up in 19HB and exports declined. 

Nevertheless, new capacity is coming on stream. Uccidenlal Chemical 

alone is buildings 1.25-billion lb/year 

VCM plant and recently started up an 

800-million lb/year EDC facility, both 

in Corpus Christi, TX. The company is 

already considering expansions at the 

VCM plant and has raised capacity at 

its Deer Park. TX plant to 1.1 billion 

pounds. Dow Chemical, Formosa Plastics, and Georgia Gulf also will add or 

debottleneck VCM capacity within the 

next two years. Doerr adds, and that 

should keep supply and demend In 

balance into next year. He then sees 

"very good demand developing next 

spring." particularly if the constnn 

tion market—an outlet for PVC—holds 

up. 

Goodrich will continue to own an 

ethylene plant, a chlor-alkali plant, a 

specialty chemicals facility, and other 

utilities at the Calverl City site and. 

Doerr says, will be a major supplier to 

Westlake's new plant. 

The Federal Trade Commission 

must approve sale of ihe unit, whose 

price has not yet been disclosed. 

Goodrich says no liability will be transferred I o West lake regard ing a pen d Ing 

environmental lawsuit filed against it 

and a number of other producers in the 

Calvert City area. 

SOPHIE L. WILKINSON 

PRONOR GETS ITS WISH: 

A PORTUGUESE UNIT 

Brazilian petrochemical company 

Pronor Petroquimica SA has paid an 

estimated $10 million for Divisao de 

Especialidades Quimicas (DEQ). a Lisbon-based manufacturer of polyols. 

ethoxylates. and polyurethane systems, 

from the Portuguese state company 

Quimigal. The plant, says Ary Barbosa 

The Brazilian 

firm wins out 

over its 

competitors 

Silveira. a director of Pronor's majority 

shareholder. Petroquimica da Bahia, 

would currently cost about $15 million 

to build from scratch. It has a total 

capacity for 21.000 m.t./year divided 

among the three product lines, and has 

sales of $25 million/year. "We think we 

can increase sales by 20%-30% without 

increasing the capacity." Silveira adds. 

Jf About 20% of the plant's outpul is 

exported to Spain. Silveira says thai 

Pronor will supply the unil with meth 

ylene diphenyl isocyanate (MDI) from 

its own plant in the Camacari petit) 

chemical complex, in northeastern 

Brazil. "Thereafter we arestudying the 

possibility of introducing other products our group already makes in Brazil, 

such as dimethyl terephthalate and 

caprolaclam." Pronor also has a subsidiary. Sintemor, that produces polyurethane systems. 

Pronor is said lo have won out in 

bidding for the plant against Hoechst. 

Himont, and Repsol/Neste Oy because 

of its ability to supply MDI. The DEQ 

plant was originally to obtain MDI from 

another Quimigal plant at Eslarreja. 

about 50 miles north of Coimbra. When 

thai plant was sold lo Dow Chemical. 

DEQ was left without a guaranteed feedslock source. 

"We had wanted some kind of operation outside Brazil for some time." Silveira says. Last year Pronor was part of 

a consortium that offered to buy into the 

Sines petrochemical complex the Portuguese government was seeking lo 

privatize, eventually losing to Nesle. 

Pronor is owned by Petroquimica da 

Bahia. stale petrochemical holding 

company Petroquisa and Metanor, Brazil's sole manufacturer of methanol. 

RIK TURNER in Sao Paulo 

12 Cr>emicai*eeh. Ociooer 11. 1989