Sulphur Products and Performance Chemicals
In North America, Chemtrade’s SPPC business segment markets six major products – sulphuric acid, liquid sulphur dioxide (SO2), sodium hydrosulphite (SHS), phosphorous pentasulphide (P2S5), zinc oxide (ZnO) and elemental sulphur. Chemtrade produces liquid SHS, P2S5, ZnO, and some sulphuric acid and SO2 at its own facilities. The majority of the sulphuric acid and SO2 and all of the powder SHS and marketed sulphur is obtained through marketing services agreements.
Sulphur
Products
Sulphuric Acid, Liquid SO2, and Sulphur
Chemtrade obtains sulphuric acid, liquid SO2, and sulphur primarily from base metal smelters and oil refineries, which produce these products as a result of capturing sulphur-based emissions to meet environmental regulations. Chemtrade is the largest independent provider of removal services for, and a leading marketer of, sulphuric acid and liquid SO2 in North America.
Under current environmental regulations, smelters will be required to capture more SO2 emissions and oil refineries will be required to remove more sulphur from the crude slate, which will increase the need for our removal services. Key producers supplying product to Chemtrade Logistics are base metal smelters Inco and Falconbridge.
Removal of these products is critical to ensure producers meet environmental compliance and prevent production interruptions. Chemtrade guarantees its removal services and in its 70 year history has never caused unscheduled downtime for a producer. Chemtrade provides removal services for approximately 40 key producers under unique contracts that are structured to manage commodity price and volume risk and transportation costs.
The products Chemtrade removes are valued core ingredients for other industries and Chemtrade markets and distributes these products to over 400 customers in a diverse range of different industries and geographic locations.
We also produce merchant sulphuric acid and very high quality ultrapure sulphuric acid at our own plants in Beaumont, Texas; Shreveport, Louisiana; Riverton, Wyoming; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Cairo, Ohio.
Regen Acid
Chemtrade produces, markets and distributes regenerated sulphuric acid (“regen”). We have a significant market share of the regen acid business in the U.S. Gulf Coast area and we operate the only regen facility in the U.S. Rocky Mountain area.
Chemtrade’s primary customers are oil refineries, which are the largest producers of spent acid, which is sulphuric acid that has been diluted and contaminated during the production of alkylate and cannot be used for its original purpose without being reprocessed into merchant grade sulphuric acid. The regenerated acid is then delivered back to the refineries for further consumption. The US regen acid market is expected to grow in the near term, with demand particularly strong in the Gulf Coast where Chemtrade’s two principal regen acid facilities are located.
Infrastructure
Chemtrade has extensive facilities that afford us economies of scale and enable us to provide reliable, safe and efficient services.
Manufacturing plants
|
Beaumont, Texas
Shreveport, Louisiana
Riverton, Wyoming
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Cairo, Ohio
|
Terminals
|
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Cleveland, Ohio
Chicago, Illinois
Kansas City, Kansas
Ottumwa, Iowa
|
Intermodal transfer stations
|
Cote St. Catherine, Quebec
Crafton, Pennsylvania
Saint John, New Brunswick
|
Ocean terminals
|
Savannah, Georgia
|
We operate a fleet of over 1,500 leased railcars.
Performance Chemicals
Sodium Hydrosulphite
Chemtrade is the leading North American marketer of SHS. We produce liquid SHS at our own facilities and market powder SHS under a long-term arrangement with the world’s largest producer.
SHS is used extensively as a bleaching agent in the pulp and paper and textile industries. Its major use in the paper industry is for bleaching mechanical and recycled pulps used primarily in newsprint production. In the textile industry its primary use is for bleaching indigo and vat dyes.
The majority of our SHS sales are to the pulp and paper industry, with the remainder to the textile and kaolin clay industries. We have excellent long-term customer relationships based on the quality of our products and an experienced, technically trained work force. The majority of the SHS volume is sold under multi-year agreements.
The liquid SHS operation is the largest user of liquid SO2 in North America, and Chemtrade’s sulphur products business is the largest North American supplier of SO2.
Infrastructure
The SHS operation has plants strategically located near its customer base. The three primary production facilities consist of two owned production plants, and a long-term tolling arrangement.
Owned plants
|
Leeds, South Carolina
Kalama, Washington
|
Long-term tolling arrangement
|
Trois-Rivieres, Quebec |
Regional dissolving/blending
|
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
|
The production facilities are top quality and incorporate state-of-the-art processes.
Phosphorous Pentasulphide
Chemtrade is one of only two North American producers of P2S5, a performance chemical used primarily as a strategic ingredient in the lubricating oil and grease additive markets for the automotive industry. Chemtrade has about a 25% share of the North American business.
Infrastructure
The P2S5 plant is located in Lawrence, Kansas. The plant has a production capacity of approximately 20,000 short tons per year.
|
