Ineos Phenol Expands Capacity in Alabama After Explosion Erupts in Plant

---

Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). On September 9, 2002 the Mobile, Alabama location of Ineos Phenol (Mobile, Alabama), producer of phenol and acetone, experienced a massive explosion causing over $10 million in total plant damages. The site located on Rangeline Road in the Theodore Industrial Park plans to expand its capacity 10% to 440,000 metric tons per year while repairing the damage to the plant. The phenol and acetone products will both increase by 40,000 metric tons per year.

Halliburton KBR (Mobile, Alabama) who built the original plant, which commenced operation April 2000, is the general contractor for the expansion/rebuild project. As of November 5, 2002 all six reactors were installed and mechanical construction is waiting to be completed. Plans call for the plant to be finished with the expansion and restart of operations on December 15, 2002.

The cause of the explosion stemmed from a design error in the emergency shutdown system (ESD) in one of the units that converts cumene hydroperoxide (CHP) into phenol and acetone. The shutdown occurred September 8, 2002. It has been corroborated that the ESD functioned for one unit but not the others, which in turn prevented the chemical feed valves from shutting down allowing highly explosive CHP to enter the reactors. When the unit was restarted, the series of explosions started at around 1 am the following morning.

Ineos Phenol changed its name from Phenolchemie on October 1, 2001 and is headquartered in Gladbeck, Germany. Ineos is the world's largest producer of phenol and acetone and the only company that manufactures these products in both the United States and Europe. Phenol is a chemical used in the manufacturing of common consumer products such as aspirin, compact disks, and varnish while acetone is a base product for nail polish remover and paint thinner. The 620,000 metric ton per year plant in Gladbeck, Germany and 420,000 metric ton per year plant in Antwerp, Belgium are continuing to run at full capacity in order to compensate for the shutdown.