Outside of Columbus city limits on Nashville Ferry Road, Eka Chemicals is a seemingly quiet neighbor. But its equipment and grounds span more than 800 acres and can turn out 15-20 trucks of product a day. On site, the hum of the plant sounds almost like a train passing in the distance.
The plant produces sodium chloride, hydrogen peroxide and Purate and has a replacement cost of $700 million. Its operations run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Winding stairways lead the way to towering equipment, where hydrogen peroxide is produced and collected.
At the bottom of a massive metal tank is 3-inch pipe, tiny in comparision with the drums and pipes that process chemical solutions, where hydrogen peroxide is pumped to storage tanks.
This isn”t the 3-percent hydrogen peroxide one might find in the medicine cabinet. It is shipped in solutions of 35, 50 and 70 percent.
“Hydrogen peroxide can get very volatile, depending on the concentration,” said Kelly Wood, technical manager for the local plant. “That”s why we do not make it in concentrations of more than 70 percent.
In general, H2O2 is safe, breaking down naturally into water and oxygen; in areas without ventilation, it can be dangerous. Tanks that transport hydrogen peroxide have pressure valves that will open if, for instance, they are overturned.
Thursday, a small group of community members toured the plant, getting a rare glimpse of the facility in action.
Hydrogen peroxide produced at the plant is used in the pulp and paper and textile industries, as well as detergent.
Sodium chlorate produced there can become a cleaning agent, such as Oxiclean, but mostly is used in the pulp and paper industry as part of its bleaching application.
Purate is combination of chlorate and hydrogen peroxide and is used as a bleach or decontaminant and to treat water.
In operation since the 1950s, the plant began production of chlorate in 1985. In the early ”90s, the hydrogen peroxide plant was added. Since hydrogen is given off in the chlorate-production process, it is harvested and used in producing hydrogen peroxide.
“What we”re trying to do is get as efficient as can be, as far as our process,” said Wood, who noted the company is always looking for ways to make its products more competitive. One way to do that is to find ways to cut production costs and offer customers more competitive prices.
“We make hydrogen peroxide and chlorate … but we”re in the business of making money, just like any other business,” Wood said. “We”re not gonna produce (it) for the fun of it (with no profit).”
Eka Chemicals, owned by Akzo Nobel since the late 1990s, employs 93 people at its local plant; about half of those are salaried. The other half are members of the United Steelworkers Union.
The union”s contract expires in October of this year, and Wood expects negotiations to begin in September.
“It”s gonna be a breeze,” he added of agreeing to a new contract.
Tim Mayo, production for the Columbus plant, noted much of the pulp and paper industry is moving to South America, to eucalyptus plantations. Akzo Nobel itself has a hydrogen peroxide facility in Venezuela.
Akzo Nobel has about 50 locations in the U.S. and internationally; its headquarters are in Marietta, Ga. Though its Columbus facility is dedicated to specialty chemicals, the company also produces industrial coatings for ships and oil tankers and decorative coatings for household painting.
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