Merchantability

The policy for waste heat recovery from the flue gas varies between incinerator operators. Incinerators located on the waste producer s site tend to be fitted with waste heat recovery systems, usually steam generation, which is fed into the site steam mains. Merchant incinerator operators, who incinerate other people s waste and... 

Chemical Conversion. In both on-site and merchant air separation plants, special provisions must be made to remove certain impurities. The main impurity of this type is carbon monoxide, CO, which is difficult to separate from nitrogen using distiHation alone. The most common approach for CO removal is chemical conversion to CO2 using an oxidation catalyst in the feed air to the air separation unit. The additional CO2 which results, along with the CO2 from the atmosphere, is then removed by a prepuritication unit in the air separation unit. 

Uses. The largest uses of butanediol are internal consumption in manufacture of tetrahydrofuran and butyrolactone (145). The largest merchant uses are for poly(butylene terephthalate) resins (see Polyesters,thermoplastic) and in polyurethanes, both as a chain extender and as an ingredient in a hydroxyl-terminated polyester used as a macroglycol. Butanediol is also used as a solvent, as a monomer for vadous condensation polymers, and as an intermediate in the manufacture of other chemicals. 

Of these producers, Atochem, Degussa, and Daicel are reported to be in the merchant acrolein business. Union Carbide suppHes only the acrolein derivative markets. Rhc ne-Poulenc also produces acrolein, primarily as a nonisolated intermediate to make methionine. A number of other small scale plants are located worldwide which also produce acrolein as an intermediate to make methionine. 

The heat of hydration is approximately —70 kj /mol (—17 kcal/mol). This process usually produces no waste streams, but if the acrylonitrile feed contains other nitrile impurities, they will be converted to the corresponding amides. Another reaction that is prone to take place is the hydrolysis of acrylamide to acryhc acid and ammonia. However, this impurity can usually be kept at very low concentrations. American Cyanamid uses a similar process ia both the United States and Europe, which provides for their own needs and for sales to the merchant market. 

Mitsui Toatsu Chemical, Inc. disclosed a similar process usiag Raney copper (74) shortiy after the discovery at Dow, and BASF came out with a variation of the copper catalyst ia 1974 (75). Siace 1971 several hundred patents have shown modifications and improvements to this technology, both homogeneous and heterogeneous, and reviews of these processes have been pubHshed (76). Nalco Chemical Company has patented a process based essentially on Raney copper catalyst (77) ia both slurry and fixed-bed reactors and produces acrylamide monomer mainly for internal uses. Other producers ia Europe, besides Dow and American Cyanamid, iaclude AUied CoUoids and Stockhausen, who are beheved to use processes similar to the Raney copper technology of Mitsui Toatsu, and all have captive uses. Acrylamide is also produced ia large quantities ia Japan. Mitsui Toatsu and Mitsubishi are the largest producers, and both are beheved to use Raney copper catalysts ia a fixed bed reactor and to sell iato the merchant market. 

The largest production of acrylamide is in Japan the United States and Europe also have large production faciUties. Some production is carried out in the Eastern Bloc countries, but details concerning quantities or processes are difficult to obtain. The principal producers in North America are The Dow Chemical Company, American Cyanamid Company, and Nalco Chemical Company (internal use) Dow sells only aqueous product and American Cyanamid sells both Hquid and sohd monomer. In Europe, Chemische Eabrik Stockhausen Cie, Ahied CoUoids, The Dow Chemical Company, and Cyanamid BV are producers Dow and American Cyanamid are the only suppHers to the merchant market, and crystalline monomer is available from American Cyanamid. Eor Japan, producers are Mitsubishi Chemical Industries, Mitsui Toatsu, and Nitto Chemical Industries Company (captive market). Crystals and solutions are available from Mitsui Toatsu and Mitsubishi, whereas only solution monomer is available from Nitto. 

About 85% of U.S. adipic acid production is used captively by the producer, almost totally ia the manufacture of nylon-6,6 (194). The remaining 15% is sold ia the merchant market for a large number of appHcations. These have been developed as a result of the large scale availabihty of this synthetic petrochemical commodity. Prices for 1960—1989 for standard resia-grade material have parahed raw material and energy costs (petroleum and natural gas)... 

Most manufacturers sell a portion of their alcohol product on the merchant market, retaining a portion for internal use, typically for the manufacture of plasticizers. Sterling Chemicals linear alcohol of 7, 9, and 11 carbons is all used captively. Plasticizer range linear alcohols derived from natural fats and oils, for instance, octanol and decanol derived from coconut oil and 2-octanol derived from castor oil, are of only minor importance in the marketplace. 

The sales brochures of the manufacturers describe the plasticizer range alcohols available on the merchant market (18). Typical properties of several commercial plasticizer range alcohols are presented in Table 8. Because in most cases these ate mixtures of isomers or alcohols with several carbon chains, the properties of a particular material can vary somewhat from manufacturer to manufacturer. Both odd and even carbon chain alcohols are available, in both linear and highly branched versions. Examples of the composition of several mixtures are given in Table 9. 

Most A1F. and cryoHte producers have their own HF production faciUties. HF vapor is reacted with alumina trihydrate to form A1F. in a fluid-bed reactor. HF is reacted with sodium hydroxide to form sodium fluoride, which is then used to produce cryoHte. Producers who manufacture these products solely for use in the aluminum industry do not generally install Hquid HF storage and handling faciHties, and do not participate in the merchant HF market. 

Economic Aspects. U.S. manufacturers of fluorosulfuric acid are AUiedSignal and Du Pont. These companies have a combined aimual capacity estimated at 20,000 metric tons, most of which is used internally although some merchant sales exist. Fluorosulfuric acid is shipped in tank cars. 

Most of the HCl produced is consumed captively, ie, at the site of production, either in integrated operations such as ethylenedichloride—vinyl chloride monomer (EDC/VCM) plants and chlorinated methane plants or in separate HCl consuming operations at the same location. Captive use of anhydrous HCl accounted for 80—85% of the total demand in 1989. The combined merchant market for anhydrous and aqueous HCl in that same year was about 9.1 X 10 metric tons on the basis of 100% HCl (see Table 12) (73). 

Aqueous Hydrochloric Acid. Muriatic acid consumption in 1993 was about 1.57 million metric tons (100% basis). The largest captive use of aqueous HCl is for brine acidification prior to electrolysis in chlorine/caustic cells and the largest merchant markets for HCl are steel pickling and oil-well acidizing, which accounted for 25 and 16% of merchant production, respectively, during 1989. 

Rhc ne-Poulenc (RP), producing both in Europe and the United States, is the only producer of sahcylaldehyde worldwide, for merchant sales. A large portion of it is used captively in the manufacture of coumarin. The remainder is available for the merchant market. 

The demand for DRI varies depending on local market conditions. In industrialized countries, DRI primarily is used as a supplement to scrap for controlling residual elements in electric arc furnace steelmaking. In regions where scrap is scarce, DRI is used as a replacement in production of all grades of steel. In 1993, Latin America produced 9.4 X 10 t (39.3%) of the world s DRI. Middle East/North Africa produced 6.1 X 10 t (25.6%), Asia/Oceania produced 4.4 X 10 t (18.4%), and CIS/Eastem Europe produced 1.7 x 10 t (7.1%). North America produced 1.2 x 10 t (5.0%) Africa, 0.9 x 10 t (3.8%) and Western Europe, 0.2 x 10 t (0.8%) (1). Nearly 79% of the DRI produced is consumed in steel mills adjacent to the DR plants called captive plants. Plants which are designed to sell and ship DRI on the open market are called merchant plants. 

Total merchant shipments of DRI and HBI in 1993 reached 5.1 x 10 t. The primary DRI exporting countries were Venezuela, Russia, Malaysia, Trinidad, and India. The price of merchant HBI in 1993 was in the range of 125 to 167/1 on a deUvered basis. Although there are expectations that the value of merchant DRI should some day stand on its own, the historic price has been tied to the price of ferrous scrap. A general mle of thumb has been that the value of merchant DRI is comparable to prime scrap (No. 1 Bundles or No. 1 Bushelings) in industrial countries, and comparable to imported shredded scrap in developing countries (see RECYCLING, FERROUS METALS). 

Economic Aspects. AH diketene production is used captively and, therefore, production figures can only be estimated by the volume of derivatives output on the merchant market. World production of diketene is probably close to 100,000 metric tons, approximately 20% of that production in the United States. Before the discontinuation of aH shipment in the United States, diketene was sold for less than 2.20/kg. 

If two or three of the principal customers are unavailable to a new suppHer, the problem of selling becomes more acute. In fact, if a significant portion of the so-called merchant market is unavailable to a new producer, entry into the field could be disastrous. Special arrangements can arise because of the proximity of suppHer plant to user plant, taw matetial avadabiHty from one firm to the other, common financial ownership to some degree, toU arrangements, etc. 

Key contents of a purchase profile report for a specific chemical are identity, location, and capacity of primary vendors expected additions or deletions of capacity and their timing captive use/merchant supply status of each vendor pricing history pricing induences (feedstock, energy, etc) demand by use and anticipated growth and demand in the purchaser company up to five or ten years ahead. 

Table 5. Merchant Market Prices/ /t Nitric Acid, 100% Basis...

Launched ia 1959, N. A. Savannah operated very weU. Starting ia 1962, it made a goodwill voyage around the world. It was able to travel a distance of several times the earth s circumference on one fuel loading. However, the ship was not competitive economically with oil-powered merchant ships. The shielding was quite adequate, so that the reactor was safe. Nonetheless the vessel was opposed by antinuclear groups and the N.A. Savannah was eventually retired and put on display ia Charleston, South Carolina. In 1994, the ship was transferred to Norfolk, Virginia, to be held ia reserve. 

Nuclear Merchant Ships, Maritime Transportation Research Board, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1974. 

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