Hercules, Burlington, Ont. CTO originates as tall oil soap, which is separated from recovered black liquor in the kraft pulping process. The tall oil is then fractionated to produce fatty acids, rosin and pitch.
Most plants can operate beyond their indicated capacities.
In 1997, Georgia-Pacific completed a 50 percent expansion of its tall oil fractionator in Crossett, Ariz., raising its capacity to 120,000 tons. In 1999, Union Camp's production facility in Savannah, Ga., became part of Arizona Chemical's operations, after Union Camp was purchased by International Paper, the parent of Arizona Chemical. That same year, Arizona closed its refinery in Springhill, La., eliminating 50,000 tons of capacity. Also in 1999, Hercules closed its Portland, Ore., plant because of its disadvantaged small scale of 30,000 tons. Earlier this year, the company announced that it has entered discussions to sell its pine chemicals business to an unidentified company.