Sulfuric acid plant to interrupt operation
Saturday, January 26, 2008
By BRAD CROCKER
PASCAGOULA -- One of the two 1,500 ton-per-day sulfuric acid plants at Mississippi Phosphate Corp.'s fertilizer facility in Pascagoula will be out of production for about 30 days to replace boiler components, the company announced Friday.
The boiler's internal tubes and tube sheets experienced a major failure in July 2007, the company said in a news release. Production resumed in late August but was interrupted again in early September until it was back on line until this week.
"The contractor retained by the company to assemble and install the replacement internal components of the boiler has failed to deliver an operationally reliable boiler," the company said. "The latest failure of the boiler has led the company to conclude that further efforts by the contractor to correct its prior defective work are unlikely to be successful."
In October, the company sued the unidentified contractor, seeking damages related to the alleged previous failures. The case is still pending.
As the sulfuric acid plant remains idle, production of diammonium phosphate will reduce to about 900 tons per day, but company spokeswoman Melinda Hood said customer service will not be interrupted and none of the facility's 225 employees will lose work.
There were no environmental or safety issues connected with the shutdown, Hood added.
"This was a planned takedown, a controlled takedown," she said.
Another contractor has been hired to assemble and install new internal components in the boiler. Hood said replacement parts are already on-site and the company's maintenance crews are also available to "double-check everything."
According to the company Web site, Mississippi Phosphates can produce about 750,000 tons of diammonium phosphate each year based on sulfuric acid produced at the Pascagoula site and 870,000 tons annually if supplemental sulfuric acid is available for purchase.
Hood said it was "very unlikely" that the company would be required to purchase any additional sulfuric acid to meet production demands.
A majority of the DAP is sold domestically and distributed through rail, truck and barge.
Reporter Brad Crocker can be reached at bcrocker@
