Airgas To Build 450 Tpd Liquid Carbon Dioxide Plant At Shell Deer Park Refinery Near Houston, TX
Radnor, PA - Airgas, Inc. recently announced that it will build a new 450-ton-per-day liquid carbon dioxide plant at the Shell Deer Park Refinery complex near Houston, TX. Airgas also entered into a 15-year agreement with Shell Oil Company, which will supply the feedstock of raw carbon dioxide for the Airgas facility.
Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. played an integral role in the development of this project by identifying this opportunity and creating the framework for this collaboration.
"By building a new world-class facility at this important petrochemical refinery, Airgas will better serve carbon dioxide customers in the greater south-central Texas market," said Division President Ted Schulte, whose division includes Airgas Carbonic and Airgas Dry Ice. "We currently serve customers in this region through a smaller plant in La Porte, TX as well as by bringing in product from Star, MS. This new site will create a stronger network of plants for our liquid merchant customers and for our own dry ice production."
Deer Park Refining Limited Partnership, a partnership between Shell Oil Company and PMI Norteamerica S.A. de C. V., will build a pipeline to the two-acre Airgas facility, which will have truck and rail access. At the Airgas facility, the raw carbon dioxide will be purified and liquefied for commercial and beverage-grade use.
"Shell Global Solutions and the refinery are working with Airgas to optimize available resources," said Aamir Farid, General Manager, Shell Deer Park Refining Company. "We are building on our experience in optimizing operations by developing and implementing solutions across the carbon energy value chain. This announcement reiterates Shell's collaborative approach in managing CO2 associated with hydrogen production."
Airgas Carbonic is the second-largest manufacturer and distributor of liquid carbon dioxide in the United States and the largest in the Southeast U.S., with six production facilities serving 19 states, primarily east of the Mississippi River. Two of its plants are the largest in North America and offer state-of-the-art production and quality control capability.
Airgas Dry Ice is the largest producer and distributor of dry ice nationwide with dry ice plants and distribution points across the U.S. Liquid carbon dioxide and dry ice are used predominantly in food service and preparation and beverage industries for freezing, chilling and in-transit applications.
Salof Refrigeration Co., Inc. of New Braunfels, TX, will assist Airgas in building the Airgas Deer Park facility, with an expected completion date of late calendar 2008. The facility eventually will employ 15 to 20 people.
SOURCE: Airgas, Inc.