Air Liquide Canada opens complex

Air Liquide Canada announced the opening of its new state-of-the-art industrial gases and utilities complex in Scotford, in Strathcona County just northeast of Edmonton. The $ 150 million complex primarily supplies Shell Chemicals Canada Ltd.'s new monoethylene glycol facility. In addition, Air Liquide will produce oxygen, nitrogen, argon and carbon dioxide in liquid form to meet the growing demand of the market in Western Canada.

"The integration of cogeneration and industrial gases facilities is a part of our global offer concept," stated Patrick Jozon, Air Liquide Canada's President and Chief Operating Officer. "This industrial complex is an example of the innovative global solutions we offer our customers to optimize their electrical and steam requirements, improve their industrial performance and help them protect the environment."

The complex includes three integrated facilities, an air separation plant, a cogeneration plant and a carbon dioxide plant. The air separation plant, with a capacity of approximately 1,000 tons per day of oxygen, primarily supplies Shell Chemicals Canada with gaseous oxygen and nitrogen. The cogeneration plant has a capacity of 200 tons of steam per hour and 80 megawatts of electricity, supplying Shell Chemicals Canada's (steam and electricity) and Air Liquide's (electricity) facilities, as well as supplying power to the Alberta grid. The 300 ton-per-day carbon dioxide plant will recover, purify and liquefy raw byproduct carbon dioxide from Shell Chemicals Canada's new plant.

A major advantage of the Air Liquide complex is the fact that the integrated facilities are environmentally friendly. No pollutants are produced from the air separation plant and cogeneration is a fuel-efficient way to generate power and steam from a single fuel source: clean-burning natural gas.

Edited by Drew Bowden
Assistant Editor, Chemical Online