MissPhos lowers US DAP output until 1 October

17 September 2007 02:51  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--US phosphate fertilizer producer Mississippi Phosphates Corp (MissPhos) said late on Friday it will continue to cut back production at its Pascagoula facility at least until 1 October.

Its recently idled sulphuric acid plant would experience additional downtime to correct defects in repair work to a boiler carried out in July-August this year, the company said in a statement.

The plant went down at the beginning of July following a major failure on a key component at one of the plant’s two sulphuric acid lines.

A substantial rework of the defective repairs has been initiated and it was expected to be completed by 1 October, the statement added.

While MissPhos was cautiously optimistic that the defective work could be repaired, it has ordered, as a precautionary measure, materials for a replacement component for the boiler.

If required, the fabrication and installation of a replacement component could take up to approximately two months, according to the company.

Based on the projected availability of sulphuric acid, DAP production should range between 1,300-1,500 short ton/day (1,170-1,350 tonne/day) during the shutdown, the company said. It expects to meet all outstanding commitments to its customers and suppliers during this period.

MissPhos has a capacity to produce 2,384 short ton/day of DAP. The additional downtime was likely to result in the loss of 20,000-30,000 short ton of DAP production, provided the plant restarts in early October.

By: Stephen Mitchell
+44 20 8652 3214

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly