N America chlor-alkali capacity to fall

19 June 2008 06:43  [Source: ICIS news]

BANGKOK (ICIS news) -- Chlor-alkali capacity in the US could be reduced by as much as 6 percent in three years due to a continued poor demand for chlorine and rationalization among industry players, a speaker said on Thursday.

 

The total annual chlorine capacity in north America is currently at around 12.6 million tonnes but this could decrease by almost 760,000 tonnes/year in 2011, said Cristi L Stiers, the global marketing director of chlor-alkali products for The Dow Chemical Company at the 12th Asian Chlor-alkali Conference, in Bangkok, Thailand.

 

“Chlorine capacity will be added in the coming years but the amount lost due to rationalization will be larger,” said Stiers.

 

The reduction in chlorine production implied that production of caustic soda would also fall as both chemicals are manufactured using the same process. Just over 2 million tonnes of caustic soda are expected to be added from 2000 to 2011 while as much as four million tonnes will be lost, she added.

 

The fall in supply could help fuel bullish sentiments in the caustic soda market, where annual demand growth is estimated at around 0.8%.

 

Almost 60 million of caustic soda was consumed worldwide in 2007, said Stiers.

 

The two-day conference, organised by ICIS and Tecnon, will end on Friday.

 

For more on caustic soda visit ICIS chemical intelligence

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By: Hun Wei Ng
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