Data on gross domestic product (GDP) compiled by Statistics Canada indicate that the chemical industry posted a solid but unspectacular first quarter this year. After registering year-over-year growth of 3.3% in the first quarter of 2021, the chemical sector as a whole recorded a 1.2% year-over-year decline in the most recent period. The data collected by Statscan are reported at basic prices and have been seasonally adjusted at annual rates.
The 2022 Canadian Chemical Directory is now available for purchase from Camford Information Services.
Whether you buy or sell chemicals, the 2022 Canadian Chemical Directory will put the industry at your fingertips. The latest edition of the Canadian Chemical Directory lists 575 chemical suppliers, 965 principal companies, more than 3,490 chemical products and 3,850 trade names. Feedstocks, chemicals, minerals, metals, resins, and drugs all in one volume.
Published by Camford Information Services – the leading provider of market information on Canada’s chemical industry.
The 2021 Canadian Chemical Directory is now available for purchase from Camford Information Services.
Whether you buy or sell chemicals, the 2021 Canadian Chemical Directory will put the industry at your fingertips. The latest edition of the Canadian Chemical Directory lists 590 chemical suppliers, 985 principal companies, more than 3,490 chemical products and 3,890 trade names. Feedstocks, chemicals, minerals, metals, resins, and drugs all in one volume.
Published by Camford Information Services – the leading provider of market information on Canada’s chemical industry.
The 2021 Canadian Chemical Directory is now available for purchase from Camford Information Services.
Whether you buy or sell chemicals, the 2021 Canadian Chemical Directory will put the industry at your fingertips. The latest edition of the Canadian Chemical Directory lists 590 chemical suppliers, 985 principal companies, more than 3,490 chemical products and 3,890 trade names. Feedstocks, chemicals, minerals, metals, resins, and drugs all in one volume.
Published by Camford Information Services – the leading provider of market information on Canada’s chemical industry.
Camford Information Services has just updated the hydrogen product profile for Canada. The five page report includes an extensive list of hydrogen producers in Canada, the process used and nameplate capacity. Also included is supply/demand analysis, pricing and a market summary. The five page report is available for purchase for $149.00. Use the link below for ordering details.
To help electrolysis plants achieve substantial energy savings in the chlor-alkali process, AGC Chemicals designed FORBLUE™ FLEMION® fluorinated ion exchange membranes that have a low electrical power consumption to decompose purified brine. FLEMION membranes help to maintain high electrical current efficiency, thanks to a highly specialized fluorinated carboxylic polymer layer in the membrane.
In addition to saving energy, FLEMION membranes minimize the influence of brine impurities like calcium, magnesium and especially barium and iodine. This allows the membranes to perform better and remain stable longer.
FLEMION membranes, used in the electrolyzers at electrolysis plants that decompose brine, play a key part in manufacturing caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), caustic potash (potassium hydroxide), chlorine and hydrogen-basic chemical products.
AGC also offers technical services for FLEMION ion exchange membranes including analysis of brine and raw salt as well as complete extractions from used membranes. AGC uses inductively coupled plasma to detect impurities; ion chromatography to measure sulfate, chlorate and iodine; total organic carbon to determine water and brine quality; and an auto titrator to calculate the concentration of salt in brine solutions.
Further to the announcement May 28, 2019 Tony Infilise is very pleased to confirm that as of October 1, 2020 after many years of planning and preparation, the shared Leadership of Quadra Chemicals Ltd. and Quadra Chemicals Inc. will be assumed by Philip Infilise as CEO and Anne Marie Infilise as President.
Philip joined Quadra in 2000 as an Account Manager where he was mandated to build a market presence for the original Quadra Chemicals Inc. (QCI) in the USA. Philip has subsequently held various roles throughout the organization since, such as Product Manager, Sales Manager and SBU Manager before being appointed to Business Manager, Mining in 2014. In 2016, Philip was appointed Vice- President Resources, responsible for both the Mining and Energy Groups. During his first year, Philip led the bold expansion of Quadra’s Energy business in the USA, under Quadra Chemicals Inc. (QCI). Philip becomes CEO of Quadra Chemicals on October 1, 2020. Philip Infilise stated: “I am humbled and honored to be following my father Tony Infilise in the role of CEO. With the strong leadership of Anne Marie as President, the outstanding Executive Team and the Quadra Family we are very confident in our bright future. I believe that we have a tremendous opportunity to deliver value to all our stakeholders by continuing to take a long-term perspective as well as harnessing the power of our talented team to provide an exceptional experience to our customers and suppliers. “
Anne Marie was appointed President of Quadra Chemicals in 2017. Anne Marie joined Quadra in 1998 serving in various roles throughout the organization including Product Coordinator, Product Manager and Marketing Manager. In 2010 Anne Marie established Quadra’s Health and Personal Care group including the acquisition and integration of Street Chemicals. Anne Marie built a formidable team and supply chain resulting in impressive growth for the new group. In 2016 Anne Marie was promoted to Vice President, Ingredients in addition to her role as Business Manager, Health and Personal Care. Tony Infilise will focus on his roles of Chairman of the Boards of Quadra Chemicals and Infilise Holdings while taking time to pursue personal interests with his partner in business and life, Betty Infilise.
Tony Infilise stated: “I wish to express my gratitude to Quadra’s customers, suppliers and other business partners for their confidence in the Quadra Team and enabling our success. I have enjoyed my roles as coach and advisor during this transition year, observing the positive dynamics of the Leadership Team and its Executive Committee working very well with the shared Leadership of Philip & Anne Marie. I look forward to supporting the continued success of the entire Quadra Team from my Board and Shareholder positions. The depth of Quadra’s experienced Leadership and the entire team fills me with confidence about the future. Beyond the investments and development our first priority – our people, our recent investments in infrastructure, business processes, tools & software, and our progress in our Digital Transformation positions Quadra well for success. I know our entire Team continues to be dedicated to delivering products and services reliably and knowledgeably, providing value for you.”
For additional information please contact Kate Longridge, Corporate Communications Manager (communications@quadra.ca).
The recently-launched Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup Initiative is tackling plastic pollution in the Great Lakes with the largest deployment of Seabin and LittaTrap™ technology in the world
The Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup Initiative (GLPC) is pleased to welcome NOVA Chemicals Corporation as its lead corporate sponsor. As one of the largest Canadian petrochemical companies, NOVA Chemicals seeks to be a catalyst for change to address the challenge of plastic waste in the environment and waterways at home and around the world.
Launched on August 27, 2020, the GLPC aims to combine innovative capture and clean-up technologies to remove plastics from the Great Lakes with messaging to communities and consumers (with an initial focus on Ontario) about the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling material waste.
“It takes all of us to shape a world that is better tomorrow than it is today. So we are excited to join the Council of the Great Lakes Region, Pollution Probe, Environment and Climate Change Canada, regional marinas and academic institutions on cleaning up our waterways. Ensuring the long-term environmental health of this public waterway is important to us all,” said Luis Sierra, president and CEO, NOVA Chemicals.
This represents the largest deployment of Seabin and LittaTrap™ cleanup and capture technology in the world, in a region where immediate action on plastic pollution is vitally important. The NOVA Chemicals sponsorship will help bring two more marinas – Andrew S. Brandt Marina at Sarnia Bay and Bridgeview Marina – from the Sarnia-Lambton area into the GLPC Initiative, bringing the total number of marinas participating to date to 13.
The Great Lakes suffer from high levels of plastic pollution – in some locations, concentrations of plastic in the lakes are greater even than those recorded in ocean garbage patches. Shoreline cleanups show that plastic accounts for around 80 percent of the litter found on Great Lakes shorelines. It is estimated that approximately 10,000 tonnes of plastic enters the lakes and their surrounding waterways each year from Canada and the United States.
As part of the GLPC, being implemented over the next five years, Seabin and LittaTrap™ capture technologies will collect debris throughout the spring, summer and fall months. The debris will be analyzed, and both marina-specific and aggregate results will be profiled on the GLPC website in order to further our understanding of the plastic pollution problem throughout the Great Lakes and what can be done by government, industry and citizens to prevent plastic from reaching the lakes in the future.
“Plastics play a vital role in society as they promote health and wellbeing, but they do not belong in the environment. Through initiatives like this, as well as our investments in advanced recycling technology, bringing post-consumer recyclate (PCR) to market and encouraging use of recycled plastic in packaging design, we remain committed to building the circular economy solution,” Sierra added.
“We’re pleased to have NOVA Chemicals on board for this initiative,” said Christopher Hilkene, CEO of Pollution Probe. “We need industry engaged to bring an end to plastic pollution and the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup will benefit enormously from the support of a company that is demonstrating leadership and has strong ties to Great Lakes communities.”
“The Council is very excited to welcome Nova Chemicals to the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup initiative as the lead corporate sponsor, critical funding that will be used to expand the capture and clean-up of plastic across the Great Lakes and to further our understanding of plastic pollution pathways and actions that government, industry, and consumers can take to combat the loss of valuable materials to our environment and landfills,” said Mark Fisher, President and CEO, Council of the Great Lakes Region.
Vacuum tumble dryers can dry up to 10 times faster, with 75% less energy, and be 5 times less expensive to operate than traditional dryers
When
processing industrial powders, precise drying is often required for
production and quality control. However, traditional equipment such as
tray dryers are usually designed to operate for a specified, set time
that may not correlate with the actual level of drying required. This
lack of precision can lead to over-drying that damages powdered
components or under-drying that requires additional processing, and
sensitive or volatile powders can be more prone to damage.
Because
a tray dryer, for instance, dries material statically from the
outside-in without movement, it creates variations in the powdered
material. Usually, such variations must be compensated for with extra
processing. This typically involves removing the powder and running it
through a mill or any number of additional steps, all of which add
considerable time and cost to the drying process.
As
a solution, drying equipment with sophisticated controls such as
advanced vacuum tumble dryers can provide significantly more efficient,
consistent drying of sensitive or volatile powders with less time and
energy. Vacuum tumble dryers can be used to dry (and also potentially
blend) loads up to 10,000 kg. The totally enclosed vessels enable
better control over the drying process and repeatable low moisture end
points while advanced sensors further enhance the precision and speed of
powder drying.
“Compared
to traditional dryers, vacuum tumble dryers can dry up to 10 times
faster, with 75% less energy, and be 5 times less expensive to operate,”
says Gregg Muench, Vice President of Development at Gemco, a Middlesex,
NJ-based technical expert in powder processing and vacuum tumble
dryer/tumble blender manufacturer, founded in 1916.
According
to Muench, the efficiency relates to the ability of vacuum tumble
dryers to precisely measure, control and adjust factors like
temperature, pressure, and humidity in the vessel, so powder production
can be optimally effective.
As an example, many industrial powders contain solvents to dissolve or dilute certain
substances,
but the solvents must be removed to dry the powders effectively. By
adjusting vessel pressure to lower the boiling point of solvents, a
vacuum tumble dryer can use significantly less heat to remove solvents,
making it the most energy efficient and fastest type of dryer for this
purpose.
When
damaging free radicals result from certain chemical processes, these
also must be removed from powders – and this is also facilitated by the
equipment. In some advanced vacuum tumble dryers, gas purging
technology (which injects an inert gas under the powder bed) enables
processors to safely extract the free radicals from powdered materials
as well as mitigate uneven drying, which improves dryer reliability and
powder quality.
Heat Application with Gas Purging Common
drying equipment such as tray dryer technology (which places layers of
wet material on racks of heated trays) typically utilizes only static
heat to dry powders. However, this can lead to a number of challenges
including uneven drying, trapped volatile materials, and excess heat
that can damage sensitive substances. However, these issues can be
resolved by utilizing vacuum tumble dryer technology, which uses gas
purging along with heat application during the powder drying process.
The first challenge of
applying heat alone is that it tends to dry the powder unevenly. As
heat is applied, the material that is exposed closest to the surface
will inevitably dry faster or crust. Because tray drying, for example,
is static it does not provide movement or agitation to lower levels of
material on the tray.
“Heat
without movement is similar to baking and unevenly cooks the material,”
explains Gemco’s Muench, whose company has expertise with the
chemistry, physical attributes, and interaction of powders, and with
material handling and equipment integration into a larger processing
system. “So, the powder may require additional processing. Uneven
drying can also destroy the powder’s active component chemistries, which
can render the rest of the material unusable.”
Another
issue with relying on heat alone is that volatile materials may be
trapped on the bottom layer of powder as a crust forms on the top
layer. As the inner materials are insulated from the static atmospheric
drying process, they remain unstable. After the drying process is
complete, these volatile particles will be exposed to air upon discharge
and may oxidize or even potentially cause a deflagration, or sudden
rapid burning flame or fire, on contact with atmospheric oxygen.
A
third challenge with only applying heat is that the powdered materials
often contain solvents or free radicals that need to be removed for
adequate drying. While heat is an important component of extracting the
free radicals, too much can degrade or destroy heat sensitive
materials.
To
resolve these issues, some advanced vacuum tumble dryers utilize a gas
purge system that provides sparging (gas injection) in addition to heat
application. With this approach, a perforated tube is positioned under
the bed of material and distributes a flow of inert gas such as
nitrogen. This helps to circulate heat evenly amid the powder. The gas
bonds with free radicals and percolates to the top, where it is
vacuumed out. Because the perforated tube rotates with the vessel
during processing, all surfaces of the material are methodically exposed
to the gas feed.
Uneven
drying is also mitigated by the gas purging process, which directs a
flow of nitrogen gas within the vacuum tumble dryer vessel. This
essentially “sweeps” solvents or free radicals into the vacuum when the
gas is pumped into the void space above the bed of material. The
process greatly reduces drying times in products with weakly bonded or
unstable chemical properties.
The
gas purge also provides an easy solution to oxygen-sensitive or
volatile material, which can otherwise be damaged or even pose a
fire/burn hazard on contact with oxygen in the air during
loading/unloading of the vacuum tumble dryer vessel. When a blanket of
inert gas is used to cover the material bed, it provides a protective
barrier that prevents the powder from being exposed to atmospheric
oxygen. This can help to keep technicians safe when they need access to
the vessel through its cover or valve during loading or unloading.
Powder Movement
Powder
movement is another critical element that is necessary to eliminate
both overheating and burning of particles. Vacuum tumble dryers provide
a combination of dynamic macro and micro powder movement that provides
superior heat dispersion throughout the material.
While
this occurs, micro powder movement (if needed) simultaneously proceeds
via agitator blades located in the center of the vessel, where fine
processing in the material transpires. This allows for a gentle
repeatable pattern that maintains superior heating distribution among
the powder’s particles while preserving the product’s physical
characteristics.
Together,
the constant movement and flow path allow the powder to achieve a
consistent drying temperature throughout the entire batch. This helps
eliminate cold spots and wet powder. The smooth tumbling lets powder
lay on the heated surfaces only long enough to allow heat to transfer to
the particles and the gentle product movement eliminates particle
degradation as well.
For more info, call 800-654-3626 in the U.S.; Fax 732-733-1175; email sales@okgemco.com; visit okgemco.com; or write to GEMCO at 301 Smalley Ave, Middlesex, NJ 08846 USA.
Mixer
By Del Williams
Del Williams is a technical writer based in Torrance, California.
Engineering Meets Craftsmanship to Address Manufacturing’s Most Acute Needs
Chemical, oil & gas refinery and petrochemical facilities
use complex processing vessels such as heat exchangers, chemical reactors,
distillation columns, and pressure equipment that operate under extremely
intense environments.
These vessels must endure high temperatures and high
pressure over decades of grueling use. They are critical pieces of operating
equipment that often function as the central processing units of an entire
manufacturing facility. As a result, any equipment downtime can be extremely
costly to the operator.
Supporting the many industries that depend on these high-performance
vessels is a marketplace of equipment designers and engineers, specialized in metallurgy,
vessel fabricators, maintenance and repair services, advanced product testing
technologies and certification and accreditation organizations. Given the
performance and safety requirements for a complex processing vessel, leading
fabricators certify their vessels with the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers (ASME) to indicate that their products fulfill the requirements of
relevant ASME codes and standards.
Eighty years ago, the roots of the complex
processing vessel sector started with boiler manufacture and repair shops and has
now grown to include off-the-shelf heat exchanger and pressure vessel fabricators
and highly sophisticated and credentialed design and manufacturing specialists.
These specialist fabricators work with customers to design, engineer,
manufacture, and test ASME Division I and II code vessels of every size,
material, and finish including rare and challenging alloys selected for their
superior performance and durability.
One of the challenges facing industries that require
specialized complex processing vessels is the relatively small number of these specialist
fabricators. There are still relatively
few worldwide who provide the in-house design and engineering expertise to craft
vessels that can withstand high intensity environments.
Manufacturing processes that involve high
temperatures and high pressures require equipment that is constructed from
specialized alloys and that are custom-designed to the operator’s unique needs.
Far from off-the-shelf, clients often turn to a specialist fabricator to design
custom equipment based on a profile of their operating criteria. The fabricator
then needs to create a design, engineer, manufacture and test to ASME codes.
Tate & Lyle is a global supplier of ingredients to
food and beverage markets. When constructing their plant in McIntosh, Alabama they
required custom-designed distillation columns, pressure vessels and heat
exchangers. Because of high operating temperatures and pressure, specialized
solutions were required for performance and durability. Moreover, the company
needed equipment that could run 24/7 with only two shutdowns a year.
“At the time, the engineering team only provided a fabricator
with a data sheet of the requirements – things like how many gallons for the
vessels, operating temperatures, pressure levels, and how many nozzles were
needed. From there, we needed the vendor to come up with the equipment design
and be able to build it to ASME Section VIII Div. 1 code,” says Linda
Rutherford, a member of the Quality Control department at Tate & Lyle. “Because
of the criticality of the equipment to our manufacturing process, we needed
equipment that would not break down and stand the test of time. And at this
plant, we measure durability in decades.”
Based on a combination of capability, quality,
service and price criteria, the company partnered with Alabama-based
Mitternight, a fabricator specialist that holds certifications in ASME Div. I
and II stamps as well as a Chinese License for Pressure Vessels A2. Mitternight
designed and engineered the plant’s original separators, heat exchangers,
storage tanks, and pressure vessels. Given the operating parameters, the
company built the equipment, which included fabricating pressure vessels more
than 100 feet tall, using stainless, specialized alloys.
Complexity
Starts with Design & Engineering
The work of fabricating a specialized processing
vessel first begins with design and engineering. While an industrial customer
will have a finished and approved drawing package for a standard heat
exchanger, customers will also seek specialized expertise in designing and
engineering vessels for custom processes with unique code parameters. This
requires the fabricator to create a piece of equipment that meets their unique
and challenging specifications.
As in the case of Tate & Lyle’s plant, complexity
can start with the original design request. A process engineer will draw up a
concept and then turn to a company like Mitternight to determine how to create
it. According to Lance Covan, owner of Mitternight, “Our clients will look to
us for the code specifications, identify what’s allowable, define what will
meet the certifications of the given parameters they have in their plan and also
what will not.”
The design of a new complex processing vessel is a
product of material selection which itself is based on temperature and pressure
considerations. A fabricating specialist will identify all the parameters based
on ASME, metallurgical and temperature requirements to meet a client’s process
needs.
Once a vessel is designed and engineered,
fabricating to meet the performance specifications requires expertise and craftsmanship
in metallurgy. And specialized alloys selected for their performance attributes
can themselves be inherently challenging. Welding specialized high-grade nickel
alloys of up to 99% nickel, such as Nickel 200 for example, is a demanding
process.
There may not even be a weld procedure in existence
for the client’s specifications. It then is up to the fabricator to define and
achieve the weld parameters that have never before been made. Says Covan, “we’ve had to literally write the manual
through the process of fabricating the vessel. We will work with metallurgists on the client side
who require certain things without the benefit of any real precedent in the
market because the weld has never been made before.”
Staying
in Code
Metallurgical craftsmanship is also called upon in
the repair of corroded vessels. According to Covan, “a lot of highly corrosive
chemical catalysts move in and out of exchangers. We can apply overlays of weld
metal with a process that build up the thickness lost to corrosion given the
caustic environment. It’s one thing to do this with carbon steel, but when you
deal with specialty noble metals, this kind of work is highly specialized.”
Industrial quality control specialists like Tate
& Lyle’s Linda Rutherford regularly monitor the thickness of vessels to
ensure they remain in specification. “A key to durability is selecting the
right metals in the first place”, says Rutherford. “Then when repairs and
maintenance are needed, the code work needs to be completed and recertified. We’ve
asked Mitternight to repair and complete replacements of pressure vessels and
heat exchangers.”
Vertical
Integration Supports Long-Term Success
With so much invested in the performance, safety and
durability of complex process vessels, operators can find a lot of value in
working with a fabricator who not only has expertise in specialized metal
alloys but who can partner with them through the entire
design-engineer-fabricate-test-support continuum. Not only do fewer handoffs
protect the intellectual property of a client’s process design and custom
vessel needs, but there is less risk of fabricating delays.
According to Covan, “Vertical integration means more
control and control means making deadlines. Delivery is critical because we can
be talking about millions of dollars a day at risk for a client. When you can
control the entire process, you have a much better chance of meeting delivery
deadlines.”
Tate & Lyle has had a 20-year relationship with
Mitternight at their plant which is now the only one of its kind in the U.S.
Ongoing support includes the fabrication of new vessels, repairs (including
rerolling exchanger tubes). replacements of pressure vessels and heat
exchangers and fabricating alterations such as cutting in extra nozzles on 2:1 elliptical
heads.
Having a trusted relationship with a specialist
fabricator who can support an industrial client from design to service is key
to long-term success. In the case of the 12-foot diameter specialized alloy
column, Mitternight worked with Tate & Lyle’s senior plant personnel
including their QA & Engineering teams to plan, design and schedule
in-house fabrication, field work, installation, final welding and testing – all
within a scheduled plant shutdown of 8 days.
