Buy Used Chemical Process Plants Case Studies

EdenIQ, a biotechnology company that developed processes for producing and measuring cellulosic ethanol from corn kernel fiber, no longer required their pilot plant in California, Subsequently, they wanted to monetize their assets and have them properly removed from a facility they leased in Visalia, CA. Phoenix Equipment was able to offer significant value for the assets, and safely execute the removal scope of work that included approximately 100 pieces of process equipment, as well as outside process structures and mezzanines; indoor conveyor systems, fermentation units, and mixing equipment, pallet racking with materials, boneyard filled with equipment, scrap and debris. All work had to be performed in accordance with the lease requirements and restored to a broom clean condition as if no chemical plant existed on the site by December 31, 2019. We safely completed the work in 8 weeks with a combination of cranes, telescopic forklifts, and manlifts. Process equipment included: a 10,000 gallon Stainless Steel holding tank, (13) 1,500 gallon 316L Stainless Steel Vertical Tanks with Jackets, (2) 2500 Gallon Vertical tanks with jackets, 3000 gallon vertical tank with Jacket, (3) 475 gallon A&B Process Kettles, CIP Skid, 18"x 24' Distillation tower with reboiler. (2) Hurst Boilers with Deaerator, (12) centrifugal pumps, (4) conveyors, (3) air-compressors, (9) colloid mills, (3) mixers, and a 267 ton chiller.

Phoenix purchased an idled 25,000 TPY sodium cyanide plant.  We re-sold the entire plant including know-how. As part of the sale, Phoenix was responsible to manage the dismantlement, match-marking, crating, packing and shipment of the plant to Mexico.  Relocation work began in March 2014 and was completed by September 2014. FMC was unable to sell the plant since it exited the cyanide business in 2002.  In 2012, Phoenix was given the opportunity to find a buyer who would relocate the plant.  After extensive marketing, Phoenix developed a buyer that resulted in a substantial revenue for FMC.

Project Backgorund and Scope Phoenix purchased an unused and never installed 35,000 Nm3/hr hydrogen plant in Italy that was intended to be installed at the Saras refinery in Sardinia. The plant included a syngas reformer designed by UHDE and a PSA unit designed by Linde. The plant equipment was manufactured in 2009. However, due to the changing internal needs, the plant was never constructed, and the equipment assets were left in storage for more than 10 years. Phoenix re-sold the entire plant and relocated it to the USA. ThyssenKrupp AG provided technical services to the new plant owner to integrate these assets into a refinery that was executing a renewable diesel conversion project.Highlights of the Project Timeframe: September 2021 – November 2022Service:Plant Acquisition & RelocationValue: $10,000,000 Project Outcome Saras was able to recover significant value related to the cancelled project and avoid additional storage costs. The new end-user was able to obtain unused hydrogen production assets at a fraction of the cost of new and cut the lead time downtime to months, enabling them to meet a very tight deadline for their renewable diesel conversion project.  

Phoenix acquired the plant for more than scrap value and agreed to dismantle the plant to tops of concrete within 18 months. After attempting to sell the plant in its entirety for relocation, we initiated site dismantlement and asset recovery by engaging a Canadian subcontractor. 

Phoenix, in partnership with two other companies, purchased the entire 100+ acre site in as is where is condition after BP elected to shut down and exit the business. As part of the purchase, we assumed the responsibility for environmental condition, taxes, security and to dismantle the plant. We safely dismantled the plant, liquidating over 150 pieces of machinery; and BP was able to avoid the costs of dismantling the site and carrying the property.

Phoenix purchased this Gas-to-Liquids plant that was built in 2016. Envia required that we dismantle the site within a very short time frame so that they could sell the land. We closed on the transaction in less than week and mobilized within 10 days. We saved over 100 pieces of equipment including a complete 15.7 MMSCFD Hydrochem Syngas plant. Envia was able to clear the land and receive value for the assets quickly.

Hydrazine hydrate (HH) is a colorless liquid with an odor similar to that of ammonia. Hydrazine is widely used in various applications, such as the deoxygenation of boiler water, preparation of chemical blowing agents, preparation of intermediates for pharmaceutical and agricultural chemicals, reducing agent for metals and halogens, and chain extension of aqueous urethane formulations. The main usage of industrial scale is for the synthesis of blowing agents such as ADC, D1PA and TSH, which are subsequently supplied to thermoplastic and elastomeric industries. Main raw materials to produce HH are caustic soda, chlorine and ammonia. Therefore, it is considered a part of the chlor-alkali chain. Arch Chemicals, a large US - based chemical company, ceased manufacturing of a HH at its Lake Charles, LA site due to changing markets.  The plant was part of a larger site that had on-going operations.  Arch wanted to obtain the highest possible value for the equipment and know-how, as well as have the plant and all structures safely dismantled by a date certain. The plant used a Ketazine process which was more advanced than the Raschig process and urea process in terms of energy consumption and environmental impact. Phoenix Equipment purchased the plant and know-how, and committed to remove the plant within 2 years.  By initiating a worldwide marketing campaign, Phoenix was able to sell the plant and know-how to a large Chinese chemical producer.  As part of the sale, Phoenix contracted to perform the match-marking, dismantlement, packing and in-land freight at a lump sum cost.  Work included rigging (4) 200 ft’ + stainless steel columns weighing over 200,000 lbs each.  Work began in November 2011 and was safely completed in June 2012.  In addition, to dismantling the equipment for shipment to China, Phoenix also cleaned up other structures for the site owner.  The new owner’s plan was to build a new process plant to replace its existing plant which used outdated technology.   

Western Electric’s plant in Kearny, New Jersey was closed and sold for re-development years ago. The developer determined that the site’s main powerhouse/substation buildings would be obsolete in the site’s future and over the years removed all boilers, ducts and miscellaneous equipment from the powerhouse’s interior. In April of 2015, the developer decided to completely demolish the powerhouse and substation buildings. The powerhouse was a 100’ x 100’ x 100’ high steel framed structure with brick exterior walls, a poured in place concrete floor supported  by steel approximately 18’ above grade and a concrete/steel coal bunker running east to west and hung from the roof steel approximately 25’ wide by 90’ long. Atop the powerhouse’s roof were (2) 20’ diameter by 200’ high redial brick chimneys. The main substation was a 65’ x 120’ x 2’ steel frame structure with brick walls and concrete and steel arches. The substation’s south wall was a party wall with the powerhouse’s north wall. A 28’ wide driveway, east of the (2) buildings, separated the buildings from an active warehouse structure (the driveway was the emergency exit for the warehouse). North of the substation, a 45’ wide driveway separated another warehouse from the project.  90’ west of the buildings was the Hackensack River while underground water and gas lines serving the site were south of the powerhouse. Implosion was not an option for this project.   Solution Phoenix Equipment Corporation was selected because:   Our experienced management personnel devised a demolition methodology that greatly reduced the project’s cost. Phoenix’s ability to obtain and manage safe/competent subcontractors for the project (i.e. Asbestos abatement, manual demolition of chimneys, site production (i.e. roof coverage, sidewalk bridges, scaffolding, etc.). Phoenix’s ability to deal with local, state and federal agencies which might get involved with the project.   While waiting for the actual permits to demolish the buildings, our team performed the following work:   Abate remaining asbestos in both buildings. Covered roofs of both warehouse operations with insulation board, covered by tires and topped with 2” thick decking. Erected a sidewalk bridge in north and east driveways to protect emergency exits from warehouses. Opened bottoms of both 200’ high brick chimneys.    Once the demolition permits had been obtained, Phoenix performed the following work:   Demolish both radial brick chimneys to the powerhouse’s roof, using a scaffold attached to the chimneys as a work platform and the chimneys as their own chutes. Using excavators attached with shears and grapples, the substation was demolished to grade. Using manlifts as work platforms, we sectionalized the powerhouse and dropped or pulled sections into our work area.  The largest pulled section weighed approximately 800 tons. Set up an owner revised dewatering set-up at the site (Baker tanks, 6” pumps and hoses). Removed building basement slabs and foundations as low as possible based on the dewatering set-up’s ability to handle ground and river water. Crushed masonry materials to 1”+ and left on site.   The project yielded: 2,500 Tons Scrap Steel 50,000 Pounds copper cable 23,000 Tons - masonry (crushed and left on-site)

History Calpine decided to close, for business reasons, its 56MW cogeneration plant in Newark, NJ.  Phoenix acquired the site and committed to perform the total demolition, returning it to a parking lot, at no cost to Calpine. The plant, built in the early 1990’s, was compromised of a 40 MW GE Frame 6B Gas Turbine Generator, a 20 MW ABB Alstom Steam Turbine Generator, an HRSG and all associated equipment. Its main building was a 90’ x 150’ x 45’ high (1) story structure. The HRSG had an 8’ diameter x 215’ high steel stack. The site was located on a pad 4 to 6 feet above adjacent grades and surrounded by a paper recycling operation to its south and west; the site access road/railroad tracks to its north and an active street to its east. Further complicating the salvage/demolition project, the energy company had already terminated electric power to the site and the soils below the plant had to be left undisturbed in place and capped.   Solution  Phoenix Equipment Corporation was chosen to perform the contract because:   Phoenix’s ability to market/sell equipment to re-users, lowering the project’s cost to the energy company. Phoenix’s ability to devise a safe and efficient demolition work plan for the project in a confined/congested work area. Phoenix’s ability to deal with Newark, NJ’s various governmental agencies, obtaining the necessary permits for the site. Phoenix’s ability to coordinate/manage its necessary subcontractors to provide a safe and smooth running project    While waiting for the demolition permit to be issued for the project by the City of Newark, Phoenix had to salvage portions of the (2) turbines (a crane would be need to lift sections), portions of the water filtration units, the transformers and the cooling towers.  Using an outside crane for the turbine and water filtration unit salvage would have cost too much and taken to long. Phoenix reactivated the building’s overhead crane for the project to capture the maximum benefit for the equipment salvage value, speed the salvage process and maximize the site’s minimum available space. The 215’ high steel stack had to be taken down with cutting torches. The surrounding paper recycling facility had to be protected. Phoenix and its subcontractor sealed the scaffolding around the stack and contained all the sparks emitted by the torch cutting operation and used the chimney itself to chute the cut sections to the ground. After Phoenix demolished the stripped building to its slab using hydraulic excavators equipped with shears and grapples, our site contractor sealed openings in the site’s concrete walls with rebar and concrete, processed on site masonry to level the site and covered the entire .75 acre site with a 3” base and 3” of asphalt. Phoenix completed the project ahead of schedule garnering the maximum bonus available to it under the contract and a minimal cost to the energy company.   The project generated sales of: Portions of the gas and steam turbines Cooling towers (2) Tanks (2) Transformers Portions of the water filtration units   The scrap materials generated at the site were: 2,500 Tons scrap 50,000 Pounds of copper 5,000 Tons masonry

Background: Occidental invested significant capital to expand and up- grade the specialty chemical facility in Niagara Falls, NY in the late 1990’s.  However, due to unfavorable business conditions, Occidental decided to close the specialty chemical processes. After Occidental was un- able to sell the unit as an operating business, there were compelling reasons for them to demolish non-operating buildings and remove the assets from site.  This project was initially budgeted to be a $15,000,000 cost.   Solution: Our worldwide technical and marketing knowledge of the chemical processes, technology, patents and equipment enabled Phoenix to perform the decommissioning at no cost to Occidental. Together with Occidental, we structured an approach that that allowed us to market the processes and equipment we had purchased while performing a major five phase decommissioning project. Although Occidental was unable to sell the assets as an ongoing business, they were able to recapture significant value from those assets and have their facility safely dismantled at no cost.    Key Notes: Our purchase of the specialty chemical assets included nine complete plants/processes: Ring Chlorination Hydrofluorination Photochlorination Nitrilation Flexible Chlorination Muriatic Acid Phosphorous HF Unloading System Liquid Waste Incinerator Our purchase included an 80,000 square foot lab that we were able to re-sell to be operated in place.  

Phoenix purchased a 600,000 gallon tank farm and unloading station operation that was closed down. As part of our purchase we removed all assets from site, including a large concrete retaining wall structure, restoring the property to Greenfield. The project was completed in September 2008.  We sold several tanks and scrubber for re-use; we recycled over 1,000,000 lbs of non-ferrous materials and 1,000 tons of ferrous material.   The equipment saved for resale on the project included: (13) 45,000 Gallon 304L Stainless Steel Horizontal Tanks (1) 15,000 Gallon 304L Stainless Steel Horizontal Tanks (2) 7,000 Gallon 304L Stainless Steel Horizontal Tanks  (1) 3,000 304L Stainless Steel Horizontal Tanks