Sichuan chlor-alkali producer runs line at 30%
15 May 2008 09:24 [Source: ICIS news]
SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Chinese chlor-alkali producer Yibin Tianyuan is still running one of its two plants in Sichuan despite the devastating earthquake that forced the closure of most chemical plants in the southwest province, a company source said on Thursday.
The plant, which produces 320,000 tonnes/year of PVC and 320,000 tonnes/year of caustic soda, was still running, though at a lower rate. Local sources said the unit was operating at around 30% capacity.
PVC plants in Sichuan have been shut down since Monday as a safety precaution but Yibin Tianyuan was continuing operations to ensure that there was enough supply of disinfectant chlorine for the ongoing rescue efforts, a Chinese PVC producer said.
While chlorine and caustic soda are produced using the same process, it is not clear how much of the chlorine produced was used to make disinfectants.
There was a chance of the plant being shut down eventually to allow safety checks on its production facilities, a local source said.
Furthermore, with minimal transportation services available, the company would find it difficult to procure the salt used to make chlorine and caustic soda, from other provinces, the source added.
Yibin Tianyuan has another plant in Sichuan, which produces 180,000 tonnes/year of PVC, which was shut down following the earthquake.
Lynn Du from CBI China contributed to this article
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