A perspective of the plant ... scheduled to start operations next year.
UAE chemicals plant adopts a pure path
International expertise and the latest technology is being used to build a green-friendly chemicals plant in the UAE.
01 December 2002
A new chemicals plant under construction in the UAE will utilise state-of-the-art technology to ensure that its both manufacturing process and products are pure, posing no environmental or health risks.
Safewater Chemicals, a company incorporated in the UAE, is currently constructing its $16.5 million chlor-alkali plant in Abu Dhabi, which is scheduled to commence commercial production during the second half of next year.
Al Jaber group, one of the UAE's largest contracting and manufacturing enterprises, is the developer of the project. "The development of the plant represents the first step in a diversification programme for Al Jaber group," says chairman Obeid Al Jaber.
Al Jaber group is an enterprise with revenues in excess of $500 million, employing approximately 15,000 people.
The chlor-alkali plant will produce three products - sodium hypochlorite, hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sodium hydroxide. These will be produced via an electrolytic process using sodium chloride (salt), water and electricity as the primary feedstock, with subsequent concentration and absorption processes.
Elaborating on the manufacturing process, a company spokesman says: "The electrolytic process is a process whereby two feeder streams enter an electrolyser (cell module). One stream is saturated sodium chloride brine, and the second stream is soft water. Electricity is used to electrolyse these two streams. The brine is placed in contact with the anode, where the chloride is oxidised, and the water is placed in contact with the cathode forming hydrogen and a hydroxide ion.
"The electrolytic process to be employed by Safewater is an environmentally-friendly process using a membrane to separate the cell compartments. This process overcomes the health and environmental concerns of earlier mercury and asbestos-based processes.
"Production of hydrochloric acid is performed in two HCl absorbers. The HCl absorber consists of two concentric tubes through which flow the hydrogen and chlorine vapours at controlled rates, which react in an exothermic process to form hydrochloric vapour. This vapour is then absorbed into soft water. Caustic soda is produced at 25 per cent w/t from the electrolytic process. This solution will be concentrated to 50 per cent w/t using a single-effect evaporator. The evaporator will feature rising and falling film technology.
"The products that will be produced by Safewater will be ultra-pure. The products will contain significantly less contaminants than current ones because of the process being employed in the plant and the strict purity standards being applied to the feedstock."
"This ultra-purity of the products promotes the UAE authorities' efforts with regard to environmental protection, especially in the marine environment, where contaminants can very quickly destroy marine life," says Al Jaber.
The plant will manufacture 32 per cent hydrochloric acid, 25 per cent and 50 per cent caustic soda lye, and 11 per cent and 13 per cent sodium hypochlorite.
Safewater's key markets will be the oil and gas sector, the water generation/transmission sector, and wastewater sector, certain industrial applications and the commercial segment.
"At the present time these markets are served by imported products, which are of a substandard purity when compared to Safewater's products. Safewater has been actively informing potential customers of its plans and products. The feedback that has been received from such potential customers has been very positive.
"Safewater will be a competitive and reliable UAE-based supplier for the traders, wholesalers and end-users," Al Jaber says.
As a leading industrial and contracting enterprise, Al Jaber group is committed to participating in the government's programme of industrialisation of the economy. Safewater's plant achieves this objective on a number of levels, the spokesman says. "Firstly, the company will represent a local, secure source of chemicals of strategic importance to two essential economic sectors - hydrocarbons and water. These industries are at present reliant on imported products. The project therefore substitutes importation of foreign-produced products, with local value-added production.
"Secondly, the plant's technology is a membrane cell-based electrolytic process, which is environmentally friendly - avoiding the use of toxic chemicals such as mercury and asbestos, and replaces the use of hazardous chlorine gas with the safer and more manageable sodium hypochlorite. The use of sodium hypochlorite also improves the rates of disinfection in the nation's drinking water."
To assure the reliability of the chlor-alkali plant's operation and Safewater's ability to meet customer demands for product quality and volumes, the company has appointed world-recognised consultants and vendors for key process technologies.
Atkins, a global consulting engineering firm is undertaking the process and detail engineering. Atkins was appointed for its local representation and ability to interface with the global organisation to provide the needed expertise to carry out the scope of work.
Ionics Incorporated is supplying the membrane cell electrolyser units. Ionics, a NYSE (New York Stock Exchange)-listed company, has been a leader in the development of membrane cell technology for over 50 years. Ionics is said to have supplied more membrane cell modules than any other company in the world and is the only firm of its kind in the US.
Ionics is handling the design, supply, and commissioning of the electrolytic membrane cell modules and hydrochloric acid absorbers under a Dh30.2 million ($8.25 million) contract. It is outsourcing the supply of the hydrochloric acid absorbers from SGL Acotec.
SGL Acotec is one of a group of companies collectively known as SGL Carbon Group. SGL is listed on the stock exchanges in Germany and New York. It is extensively involved in the carbon and graphite and composites industrial sector, designing and fabricating many applications for customers in the steel, chemicals, energy, semiconductor, glass and ceramics, pharmaceuticals and automotive industries.
GEA Kestner is handling the design, supply, and commissioning of the caustic soda evaporator under a Dh2 million ($544,660) contract.
GEA Kestner is a French company, created 100 years ago, belonging to the mg Technologies Group. Continuous development work has enabled the company to maintain its leadership position in design and installation of many applications calling for evaporation and/or crystallisation techniques. The company exhibits many significant references in applications for highly corrosive streams processing. Among them, caustic soda concentration has been a rather common application, starting decades ago with mercerising caustic, diaphragm cell liquor and, now, membrane cell liquor.
The construction contractor for the procurement management, erection and cold commissioning of the plant is Al Jaber-LTA Engineering & Contracting (ALEC), a joint venture between Al Jaber Group and South Africa's Grinaker-LTA.
Thejoint venture was established in 2000 to leverage the technical expertise of Grinaker-LTA and the local strength and presence of Al Jaber group to win projects in the petrochemical sector in the GCC.
