New plant to manufacture industrial chemicals

Louis B Homer South Bureau
Thursday, September 24th 2009

Special industrial chemicals will soon be manufactured locally when Carisal Unlimited completes its US$240 million plant on the Point Lisas Industrial Estate.

The plant will produce calcium chloride, caustic soda, hydrochloric acid and sodium hypochlorine.

Vernon Paltoo, team leader at the National Energy Corporation (NEC), said, "Unlike traditional primary petrochemicals like methanol and ammonia, the new plant will not use natural gas as its raw material, but rather as a fuel in the production process."

The plant is expected to employ 75 permanent workers when it begins production of the special chemicals in 2010. It will be the first specialty facility in Trinidad. The Carisal project was approved by government in 2006 to develop a wide range of chemicals for local and export markets. Paltoo said "calcium chloride, caustic soda and hydrochloric acid will be produced by using an electrolytic solution, while chlorine will be converted to hydrochloric acid." Brine, as an input material for the manufacture of the chemicals, will be received from the desalination plant at Point Lisas. Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_business?id=161535863