Canexus Prepares for Completion of Major Chlor-Alkali Project

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Canexus Limited Partnership (North Vancouver, British Columbia) is quickly nearing the completion of a very large project estimated to have a total investment value (TIV) of $270 million at is North Vancouver plant site. This project eliminated the plant's older mercury-cell production of chlor-alkali products and replaced it with newer membrane-cell technology provided by Chemical Engineering Corporation. Construction and conversion of the older technology began in late 2008, and current plans call for the project to be complete within the next couple of months.

The chlor-alkali segment of the Chemical Processing Industry (CPI) has witnessed a pull back in demand, similar to all segments of the industry in the past year. This segment of the CPI has been impacted more than many segments, as these products are directly consumed by the vinyls and plastics industries, industries that are closely tied to the production and consumption of consumer products.

For all of 2010, there are only 51 capital and maintenance projects planned to begin construction in this segment of the industry, valued at just $139 million. There appears to be very little room an increase in the segment this year, considering the continued constraints on demand. Also, most chlor-alkali producers have converted their plants to utilize newer, more efficient and environmentally friendly technology over the past couple of years, which in turn provided production increases at a time when the product wasn't needed. These enhancements in production are expected to be more than adequate to meet the short-term needs of the industry as recovery slowly takes hold.

Among the small amount of capital spending planned for this year, Canexus will be one the biggest contributors. The company plans to construct a new 100-ton-per-day hydrochloric acid unit at the North Vancouver site, costing an estimated $13 million. More than a third, or nearly $50 million, of total spending in this segment during 2010 will be for planned maintenance turnarounds. This is down only slightly from last year, when maintenance turnaround spending totaled an estimated $67 million.

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