Bad Soden, Germany,
15
March
2007
|
12:00
Europe/Amsterdam

Gases in the pipeline for chemicals and petrochemicals

Messer invests 40 million euros in new air separation plant in Spain.

Industrial gas producer Messer is investing 40 million euros in one of Spain’s largest air separation plants in the province of Tarragona. As a result, Messer will expand the supply of gases via its own pipeline to the major chemical and petrochemical plants based in the Tarragona Industrial Park. The earthworks at the new El Morell site commenced in the middle of February 2007. Construction of the plant will only take 17 months, with commissioning scheduled for July 2008.

After an intensive evaluation of the financial and logistical aspects of what the various locations had to offer, Messer finally decided to build the new air separation plant in El Morell (province of Tarragona). Juan Pascual, President of Messer Carburos, and Managing Director Karl Hauck were committed to finding a location in the “Camp de Tarragona“. “We are delighted about the willingness to secure the investment for the Tarragona region displayed by the Mayor of El Morell, Pere Guinovart, throughout the entire negotiating process“, says Karl Hauck.

Increased production with lower energy consumption

The centerpiece of the new production plant, which is being built on a 25,000 square meter site, is the 60 meter high air separation column. Via its own 90 km pipeline network, Messer will continue to supply the main chemical and petrochemical companies at the Tarragona industrial complex with nitrogen, which is indispensable as a protective gas, and oxygen. The air separator will replace the current production plant in Vilaseca, whose capacity will be insufficient if the large-scale projects that have been announced by the chemical sector are carried out at the industrial complex. The new air separation plant will boast a significant energy saving of 10%.The extraction of industrial gases from the raw material “air” is a “clean industry” since the production of oxygen, nitrogen and argon is based exclusively on physical processes.