Texas City

In 1968 a new methanol carbonylation process using rhodium promoted with iodide as catalyst was introduced by a modest letter (35). This catalyst possessed remarkable activity and selectivity for conversion to acetic acid. Nearly quantitative yields based on methanol were obtained at atmospheric pressure and a plant was built and operated in 1970 at Texas City, Tex. The effect on the world market has been exceptional (36). 

Ma.nufa.cture. AU. manufacturers of butynediol use formaldehyde ethynylation processes. The earliest entrant was BASF, which, as successor to I. G. Farben, continued operations at Ludwigshafen, FRG, after World War II. Later BASF also set up a U.S. plant at Geismar, La. The first company to manufacture in the United States was GAF in 1956 at Calvert City, Ky., and later at Texas City, Tex., and Seadrift, Tex. The most recent U.S. manufacturer is Du Pont, which went on stream at La Porte, Tex., about 1969. Joint ventures of GAF and Hbls in Mad, Germany, and of Du Pont and Idemitsu in Chiba, Japan, are the newest producers. 

Union Carbide Corp., Texas City, Tex., U.S. 54 2-ethylhexanol propjiene... 

Texas City, Tex. ethylene coproduct petroleum 8 acetylenic chemicals... 

Process plant design has come a long way from the early 1930s when process designers used the rule-of-thumb that a process faciUty could not be scaled-up more than 10-fold (2). American Oil s Ultracracking unit (Texas City, Texas) for example, was designed from data from a small pilot plant with a scale-up factor of 80,000 (3). 

Exploiting the relative basicity of the xylene isomers, commercial units employ superacids, typically HE—BF, as the acid complexing agent for the separation of / -xylene (feedstock for isophthalic acid) (15). Amoco produces high purity / -xylene at its Texas City facility using the HE—BF process (see Btx processing). Similar processes can be used for the separation of high purity mesitylene and isodurene from their and C q isomers, respectively. 

Manufacture. There are two main 2-pyrroHdinone producers. International Specialty Products (ISP) (GAF Corporation) has manufacturing facihties in Calvert City, Kentucky, and Texas City, Texas, and BASF manufactures it at Ludwigshafen, Germany. Both producers consume most of thek production in the manufacture of l-vinyl-2-pyrrohdinone. 

Aristech Chemical Corp. Pasadena, Texas BASF Corp. Freeport, Texas Eastman Kodak Co. Longview, Texas Hoechst Celanese Bay City, Texas Union Carbide Corp. Texas City, Texas 114 99 284 136 330 11.4 19.5 166 13.6 33 Rli Rli Co " Rli Rli... 

In addition to these formal studies of human error in the CPI, almost all the major accident investigations in recent years, for example, Texas City, Piper Alpha, Phillips 66, Feyzin, Mexico City, have shown human error as a significant causal factors in design, operations, maintenance or the management of the process. Figures 4.4-1 and 4.4-2 show the effects of human error on nuclear plant operation. 

Five Hundred and Seventy Six Die in Texas City Disaster ... 

From Texas City Disaster website, http //rf.rexl.boise.id.us/v/research.pl/rfrexlbotso 02d277723X/av/880107/keyldyqpreniiums... 

An appreciation of the explosive potential of ammonium nitrate. Shipping it from Texas City is forbidden. 

Texas City has a four-tiered warning system for emergencies. Level Four includes activation ol the city s warning sirens, the signal for residents to tune into radio and TV broadcasts for additional emergency information. They have had 4 Level Four alerts in 5 years. 

Sheltering-in-place has become common throughout the country where there is industry like that at Texas City. 

Three Thousand Evacuate Hydrofluoric Acid Leak at Texas City ... 

No plant employees were injured, many people were afflicted with inflamed eyes and lungs as a result of the fumes 140 patients were admitted for observation and treatment for exposure to the gas. About 800 people were seen, treated, and released. Marathon set up a claims office by the next day 600 people filed from Texas City and nearby towns filing went on for several days. 

Texas City, Texas, USA Several BLEVEs at a Refinery... 

On May 30, 1978, a sphere in a tank farm of a refinery at Texas City, Texas, was overfilled with isobutane. As a result, it cracked and released a portion of its contents, which were then ignited. The ensuing flash fire caused the sphere to fail completely. 

Rgure 2.27. Tank farm, Texas City, Texas, refinery. 

This third explosion was too much for tlie people of Texas City, who had responded efficiently to the initial two blasts. Hundreds were forced to leave the city, letting the fire bum itself out. The series of explosions luid killed approximately 500 people and seriously injured 1000 otliers. The final deatli toll iiuiy ha e been as high as 1000 because the dock area contained a large population of migrant workers without permanent address or known relatives. It was reported tliat tliis disaster probably was caused by careless smoking aboard tlie Grandcamp. 

By the mid-1930s, thermal cracking reached its zenith in scale and sophistication. At this time the world s largest thermal cracking unit, built by Indiana Standard in Texas city, Texas, had a capacity of 24,000 BPD. This represents a capacity over 270 times larger than the first Burton stills and over forty-two times larger than the early Tube-and-Tank units. 

A ship in Texas City, TX, loaded with ammonium nitrate exploded, killing 462 people and injuring more than 3000. 

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