Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania – Air Products and Huntsman have held a groundbreaking ceremony in Geismar, Louisiana.
The location will be home to a new steam methane reformer and cold box. Air Products will own and operate these facilities. They will supply Huntsman’s neighbouring MDI operations with industrial gases, including carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen and steam.
The facility is expected to start operation in 2020. It will be connected to the Air Products Gulf Coast hydrogen pipeline and network system. Huntsman is leasing the land to Air Products.
When it is complete the new facility will be able to produce 185,000 m3 of CO and 1.4 million m3 of hydrogen each day. It will also produce up to 22,700 kg of steam an hour.
‘The reliability and environmental performance of the new industrial gases plant from Air Products will be an important foundation to our North American polyurethanes strategy,’ said Tony Hankins, president of Huntsman Polyurethanes.
‘We are focused on rapidly building our downstream footprint and capabilities,’ he added.
‘This can only be achieved with a strong upstream assets at our Geismar. We look forward to Air Products commissioning the plant in early 2020.’
