Chemical & Petrochemical Plants Case Studies

Project Background and Scope Phoenix purchased a 1.5 MMGPY ethanol recovery unit located at the Coors Brewery’s production facility in Golden, Colorado. The plant and equipment owner was required to remove it from the brewery as it was no longer required for the site process. Phoenix dismantled the unit and transported it to a storage site in Texas. The unit is designed to recover ethanol from waste liquids containing alcohol such as spilled or out-of-date beer, as well as residual streams from ethanol plants. Phoenix developed a buyer who was expanding their whisky distillery capacity. The buyer jumped at this opportunity, quickly securing the unit through a deposit and deploying a team for due diligence and inspection. Immediately after the inspection, the buyer issued a purchase order. Phoenix managed the shipment, inland and ocean freight, of the unit and all equipment to the port in Ireland.Highlights Of The ProjectTimeframe: April 2022 - August 2022Service: Plant Acquisition and RelocationValue: $500,000.00Project Outcome The unit was built in 2018 and had been operated till 2019. Phoenix removed the unit according to the Coors Brewery timeline. Phoenix’s buyer successfully received the unit in just a few months and significantly reduced their capital investment compared to purchasing new fabrication unit.

Project Background Phoenix purchased an unused 60 Nm3/hr hydrogen plant in Brownsville, Texas. The plant electrolyzes water to generate green hydrogen. This containerized plant included PEM fuel cell H2 generator, diagram H2 compressors and other skid-mounted equipment. Phoenix re-sold the entire plant and relocated it to Australia. By acquiring this plant, our client was able to drastically reduce their project lead time. Phoenix worked with its client to comply with Australia’s strict import regulations and the client’s SAP vendor system. Phoenix also sourced specific engineering and technical drawings that enabled our client to speed up the re-installation projectHighlights Of The Project Timeframe: July 2021 - January 2022Service: Plant Acquisition and RelocationValue: $800,000.00Project Outcome  Pan American Enterprise built the plant in 2018 but was not able to put it in production. Phoenix developed international clients who are actively involved in green energy projects.One of the clients purchased the plant from Phoenix and received the plant equipment in Australia in January 2022. After inspecting the delivered equipment, the client was very pleased with its quality.  

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.  

Project Background and Scope Phoenix developed a client that had an urgent need for a secondhand hydrogen plant. The client was a start-up clean fuels company that was focused on converting waste into renewable hydrogen. Facing a tight schedule to start production, the client requested Phoenix’s help to find an immediately available hydrogen plant. Phoenix didn’t have an immediate fit, so we aggressively scoured the market by approaching current hydrogen producers such as refineries, hydrogenators, and chemical plants. After extensive work, Phoenix presented three options to our client. Eventually, our client selected a used 2 MMSCFD (2,350 Nm3/hr) hydrogen plant that was to be replaced at the Calumet site in Montana. Calumet had a tight removal schedule as the footprint of the hydrogen plant was required for a renewable diesel project. Utilizing plant approved contractors, Phoenix arranged the dismantlement and relocation, performing and safely completing all work throughout the winter months in Montana.    Project Highlights Timeframe: November 2021 – March 2022Service:Plant Acquisition & RelocationValue:$2,000,000 Project Outcome Through Phoenix’s arrangement, the buyer inspected, purchased, dismantled and relocated the hydrogen plant within 5 months. The previous plant owner obtained much needed space for a new construction project scheduled for FY 2022.  

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.

Background and Scope of Work Vertellus, a producer of Castor Oil, ceased operations at its Bayonne, NJ plant, and wanted to have all outside storage tanks and process areas removed for permitting reasons. They also wanted to begin preparing the site for resale and redevelopment.  Our project consisted of the dismantlement and demolition of (2) buildings which were used to manufacturer Castor Oil, a sebacic acid plant (mostly outside structure), (4) 250,000 gallon+ storage tanks near live power lines, (2) large outside tank farms with over 90 tanks, thousands of linear of piping, and (3) 150’ tall boiler stacks. The owner attempted to drain and clean the plant, however, substantial materials remained in the equipment, tanks and piping. Furthermore, as a result of ceasing operations, the owner didn’t have the personnel resources required to complete the draining and cleaning.  Phoenix was tasked with draining lines and capturing the resulting materials for disposal, cleaning tanks and equipment, asbestos abatement, and dismantlement. Phoenix safely completed the required work in 4 months with a 10 man crew. We utilized (2) excavators with grapple/shear, bobcats, lulls, and cranes.   Tank and Equipment Cleaning The 90+ outside tanks, and (4) 250,000 gallon + tanks, contained substantial product, residual materials and/or heels. Phoenix opened all vessels to test and identify quantities and materials. We then removed all liquid materials via a vacuum truck and cleaned where necessary. For tanks that had heels that could not be removed by a vacuum truck, we cleaned the top portion, and then cut the tanks down to the top of the heels. We then disposed of the remaining tanks with the heels in place, or removed the heels and scrapped the remaining tanks.   Demolition Permits and Tank Permits and Storm Water Control Plan Phoenix obtained approximately 90 permits for the outside tank removal and 2 permits for the demolition of the buildings. The site owner performed the sewer and water disconnects, as well as electrical disconnects prior to our work. The plant is located on the water, and so it was critical to follow the storm water control plan the site had in place.

The main uses of formaldehyde are urea formaldehyde (UF) resin, used as a binder in particle board and medium density fiberboard (MDF); melamine formaldehyde (MF) resin, used in laminates; phenol formaldehyde (PF) resin, used as an insulation binder in laminates, and high-tech automobile and aviation applications; and rigid polyurethane (PU) foams, used in construction where superior insulating and mechanical properties are needed. Formaldehyde is primarily produced as a 37% aqueous solution, which makes trade costly, as there is less than two-fifths of formaldehyde per unit of liquid, thus increasing the amount of solution that needs to be delivered, which in turn increases transportation costs. Formaldehyde prices are set on a quarterly basis and track methanol feedstock. In Europe, formaldehyde is usually consumed locally. Polioli SpA was a major formaldehyde producer in Italy. During the past 45 years, Polioli developed its formaldehyde process reaching a very high level of efficiency and reliability. In 1987, Polioli built a 60,000 TPY formaldehyde plant which produced formaldehyde solution at 37 wt.%, with residual methanol of 0.5 – 1.0 wt.%, and formic acid of less than 200 PPM. In 1991, the plant upgraded its reactors. After a larger formaldehyde plant was built by Polioli, this plant was shut down in 2012. Phoenix purchased this formaldehyde plant and re-sold its equipment, piping, instruments and technical documents to a customer from Asia. All original technical documents of this plant were written in Italian and available only in hard copy. Phoenix arranged to translate over 400 original documents into English by an experienced process expert, including translating and transferring all documents to an electronic format. Phoenix was responsible for the match-marking, dismantlement, export sea worth packing, loading and inland and sea transportation of this plant to its final destination.  As part of the work, we provided a complete 3D laser scan of the plant. The final shipment included 15 expertly packed 40 ft sea containers and 5 large break bulk items, totaling around 300,000 kg. Phoenix completed the dismantlement and delivery within 6 months of receiving the order. In addition, Phoenix helped the customer obtain engineering services for upgrading the plant, supervision for the re-installation and guidance for the commissioning. The customer will receive a process guarantee. 

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 was engaged to dismantle the processing plant portion of the site so that it could be repurposed as a warehouse. Removal included outdoor and indoor equipment. Nalco was able to remove the chemical processing equipment and transform the site to a warehousing operation quickly and safely.

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.

Animal Health Fermentation Plant - Sold to be Re-Operated - Terre Haute, IN                                              Phoenix Equipment purchased, in partnership with another company, a 10-acre pharmaceutical-fermentation manufacturing facility from  Alpharma.  We were responsible for all carrying costs, including taxes, utilities, security and environmental conditions. The manufacturing site was built by Pittman-Moore to produce an injectable hormone (porcine somatotropin) used to improve feed efficiency and improve carcass quality in hogs. Pittman-Moore started building on the site in 1988. After a number of trial batches, they stopped the project in 1993. The equipment and the facility were maintained in like new condition until the Alpharma bought the property in 2000. The plant is located on ten acres in an industrial area near the Wabash River. The property is zoned for heavy industry. Adjacent neighbors are a waste treatment plant and an electrical substation. A steel frame concrete building contains 40,500 square feet of space under the roof. With the second floor and mezzanine levels, the total floor area is 67,000 square feet. All process equipment is 316L or 304L Stainless Steel and includes: 50,000 liter S/S Fermenter; 25 Sq. M. Stokes S/S Lypholizer; (2) Westphalia CSA160 Centrifuges; Westphalia BKA Centrifuge; Niro Ultrafiltration Systems; (2) Gaulin 500-MS18-10TBSX Homogenizers; Amicon Ion Exchange Columns; (2) Finn Aqua WFI Stills; APV Continuous Sterilizer; (4) York 350 HP Chillers; Clean Room; and Cozzoli equipment built in 2001 and still in original crates. In April 2008, we re-sold the facility to be re-utilized to make a similar product to a US-based company. Several of the former employees were re-hired and the plant is once again operational.   

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.

  Nitric acid is a widely used chemical for the production of fertilizers, explosives, nylon precursors, and specialty organic compounds. Nitric acid is neutralized with ammonia to make ammonium nitrate, which is a major raw material to make fertilizers and explosives.  Dyno Nobel operated a nitric acid plant in Nevada, USA to produce ammonium nitrate for the local mining industry. When the mining business hit a down turn and market demand for ammonium nitrate decreased, the nitric acid plant was shut down in 2010 and mothballed. This 350 TPD plant was a Chemico mono-high-pressure process, with a steam turbine driven Ingersoll-Rand compressor train, ammonia-to-acid conversation rate of 0.288; and produced 57% concentration nitric acid. After making a decision to permanently shutter the plant and convert the site to a terminal operation, Dyno Nobel engaged Phoenix to find potential buyers for the nitric acid and ammonium nitrate plants. Phoenix developed well qualified buyers from several countries and coordinated a thorough due diligence for the buyers. After due diligence was completed, Phoenix acquired both the nitric acid and ammonium nitrate plants, and also committed to perform the removal of all assets that couldn’t be relocated, such as the ammonium nitrate prill tower at no cost to Dyno Nobel.  For the buyer, Phoenix sold the plant delivered to the Port of Houston. Our scope of work included match-marking, dismantling, packing, and shipping the nitric acid plant. We packed pipe and small items in over 10 sea containers, sent large and oversized pieces breakbulk via 25+ trucks, and transported super heavy haul loads – the absorber tower and plant boiler – via rail. The plant was relocated to the Middle East.

Evonik closed its Silanes and Orthoester Specialty Chemical Plants for business reasons in 2010 at its Theodore, AL site. The closed plants were located within Evonik’s large operating complex.  Evonik needed land the plants sat on for another project.  Although Evonik could have simply demolished the plants, they recognized that they could recover the most value by contracting with a process equipment buyer who had the ability to not only remove the process equipment of value but also complete the removal of all unwanted structures and piping within the area.  Phoenix purchased the equipment in July 2012 and safely completed the complex dismantlement and demolition scope by February 2013.   Our Solution Asset Recovery / Sales Plan Phoenix Equipment paid Sanofi for the plant and equipment and performed all removal and dismantlement work at no cost.  We were able to do this by leveraging our ability to purchase and resell process equipment.  Phoenix safely dismantled and rigged out at its own expense over 100 pieces of process equipment for resale, including:(13) Hastelloy Reactors, (9) Glass Lined Reactors, (3) Filter Dryers, (13) Hastelloy Heat Exchangers/Condensers, (3) Centrifuges, (4) Shelf Dryers, (12+) Sparkler and Nutsche Filters, (5) Milling Systems (10) Temperature Control Units, (10+) Tanks, (4) Chillers, (10+) Lab Equipment, and (10+) Scales.   Asset Recovery Summary 100+ Pieces of Process Equipment250,000 lbs+ of Non-ferrous material1500 Ton+ of Carbon Steel   Dismantlement Work Total Plant Demolition Equipment RiggingScrap Recycling In addition to equipment removal and building demolition, Phoenix offered a turn-key demolition service as part of our acquisition that included the following: Geographical Survey, Disconnects and Utility Safe-offs, Electrical Terminations, Testing of Masonry Materials, Extermination, Soil Erosion Control and Landscaping.  Our 8 person crew spent six months at the NJ plant to safely perform the project without any injury or incident.  Phoenix utilized a Komatsu PC400 Excavator equipped with a shear, a Komatsu PC300 Excavator equipped with a grapple, various cranes ranging from 65 Tons to 500 Tons, various man-lifts, skid steer dozers and forklifts.  Our crew worked with the plant’s employees to time our operations in the plant’s active areas.

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.   

Tronox, in partnership with two other trona producers in Green River, constructed a Beneficiated Milled Trona (BMT) plant to produce a specific product for the power industry in 2013. After only a few months of operation, the plant ceased operations. The plant was located within Tronox’s existing Green River site, and integrated with other operations. The BMT plant was three separate buildings – Ore Handling, Beneficiation, and Milling. Elevated conveyors ran between each building, and spread over several miles and several live operating areas. In 2016, the partnership set a hard deadline to dismantle the plant and searched out companies that could safely and cost effectively remove the BMT plant including all associated concrete foundations, pedestals and footings. Asset Recovery / Sales Plan Phoenix Equipment had previously bought and sold for relocation a complete sodium cyanide at the Green River site.  Based on our previous relationship, Tronox invited us to participate in a competitive bid to dismantle and salvage the BMT plant.  Phoenix Equipment was awarded the project because we provided the highest equipment and salvage credit to Tronox and had demonstrated the ability to safely work at the MSHA regulated site.  Prior to starting dismantlement work, we initiated a multi-faceted marketing campaign to develop buyers for the large mining process machinery.  We sold many items directly from site and transported the balance to a storage yard for future sale.  By project end, Phoenix safely dismantled and rigged out at its own expense over 100 pieces of process equipment for resale, including:  (2) DF-85 Williams Fluid Bed Roller Mill Systems; (2) Tomra Commodas Ultrasort Pro Secondary XRT C1200 Sorters; General Kinematics Model STM 96X2 Single Deck Vibratory Screener; McLanahan Model BDDR2448007 Double Roller Crusher; McLanahan Model 48"W x 17'6"L Apron Feeder; Gundlach Roll Crusher and several miles of elevated conveyor. Asset Recovery Summary 100+ Pieces of Process Equipment 3500 Ton+ of Carbon Steel Dismantlement Work Our subcontractors spent about 10 months on-site safely perform the project without any injury or incident.  Dismantlement Summary Equipment Rigging Plant Dismantlement and Demolition Scrap Recycling

Plant Type: 1,500 Nm3/Hr Hydrogen (Syngas) Plant Original Location: Ontario, Canada                                 Destination: Asia   Artificial trans fats have become considered harmful for your health. Many European countries have banned artificial trans fats in food manufacturing. America and Canada will phase out the production of artificial trans fats in 2018. Foods containing artificial trans fats, such as cooking oils; are fully or partially hydrogenated. Facing the phase-out, many food/oil manufacturers will have to stop their hydrogen production plants. ADM operates an oilseeds processing facility in Canada where its 55,000 SCFH hydrogen plant has been shut down and will not be re-started.  The plant has a Glitsch designed steam-methane-reforming (SMR) process and includes a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) purification system. Hydrogen product reaches 99.99% purity. Most equipment is skid-mounted for easy dismantlement and shipment and has been kept inside of the process building. After shutdown, the plant was properly mothballed and kept under a nitrogen blanket to prevent corrosion.  Phoenix purchased this hydrogen plant and re-sold it to a customer from Asia. The customer will use the plant to produce additional hydrogen for its hydrogen peroxide production. As part of the sale, Phoenix was responsible to manage the dismantlement, match-marking, crating, packing and shipment of the plant to Asia.  Work was completed in approximately 2 months.

Omnova Solutions closed its Calhoun, GA plant that produced styrene butadiene latex materials for the carpet and paper markets and intended to convert the site to a terminal operation. The processes, buildings and equipment that were shutdown and needed to be removed where scattered throughout the site and in close proximity to buildings and equipment that would remain as part of the continuing terminal operation. Certain equipment, such as boilers, compressors and spiral heat exchangers were inside buildings that would be converted to storage space and remain.  The main pipe racks would remain in sections, however, dead lines had to be carefully removed from the pipe racks. Asset Recovery / Sales Plan Phoenix Equipment was awarded the contract to dismantle the plant based on our ability to reduce the cost to Omnova by offering significantly more that scrap value for the redundant machinery and equipment.  Phoenix safely dismantled and rigged out at its own expense over 35 pieces of process equipment for resale, including: (3) 10,000 Gal SS Clad Reactors, rated 400 psi internal and 80 psi on the jacket, weighing over 50,000 lbs • (2) 7,000 Gal SS Reactors, rated 150 psi internal and 150 psi on the jacket, weighing over 35,000 lbs •  Butadiene Distillation System, Built 2008  • (2) 800 HP Cleaver Brooks Boilers, 200 #, Built 2007 • (2) 50,000 Gal Horizontal Pressure Tanks • (10) SS tanks ranging from 3.000 gallon to 20,000 gallon • Vertical and Horizontal Stainless Steel and Carbon Steel Shell & Tube Heat Exchangers. Asset Recovery Summary 35+ Pieces of Process Equipment 250,000 lbs+ of Non-ferrous material 1500 Ton+ of Carbon Steel Dismantlement Work Our 8 person crew spent five months at the Georgia plant to safely perform the project without any injury or incident.  Phoenix utilized a Komatsu PC400 Excavator equipped with a shear, a Komatsu PC300 Excavator equipped with a grapple, various cranes ranging from 50 Tons to 250 Tons, various man-lifts, skid steer dozers and forklifts.  Our crew worked with the plant’s employees to time our operations in the plant’s active areas. Dismantlement Summary Equipment Rigging Plant Dismantlement and Demolition Scrap Recycling

A major producer of Cashew Nut Shell Oil (CNSL) ceased manufacturing of CNSL at its Newark, NJ plant.  The property contained approximately (20) buildings which were used for CNSL production and office/warehouse. There were (9) buildings with approximately 50,000 square feet used for CNSL production and (11) buildings with approximately 100,000 square feet used for office/warehouse space. The other features at the site were (3) major tank farms holding over (30) tanks, (3) smaller diked areas each containing 1 to 3 tanks and pipe bridges containing thousands of linear feet of piping.The new owner, a major supplier of construction materials, wanted to convert the existing site into a warehouse and distribution center for its products. Phoenix Equipment Corporation was selected for the owner’s site conversion process because:  Phoenix’s ability to purchase and resell process equipment and tanks significantly lowered the cost of the site’s reconfiguration. Phoenix’s ability to manage a complex project involving subcontractors for the following activities: utility disconnects - electrical, water and sewer disconnects to buildings being demolished (there were separations so that remaining buildings could still have service); asbestos abatement; removing and containerizing non-hazardous CSNL from much of the process equipment and piping as well as hazardous materials (Sulphuric Acid, Caustic, EDA, TETA, etc.); total building demolition and gut-out of remaining structures. Phoenix’s ability to deal with the local and state agencies that governed and reviewed the project. Our work included: Demolish (6) of the process buildings to grade and remove all process equipment from the remaining (3) buildings. Remove all site tanks and dike areas to grade. Remove and dispose of CSNL heels in (6) large bulk storage tanks and clean all process piping, equipment and tanks to make them suitable of resale or recycling.   The equipment saved for resale on the project included: (25) 1,000 gallon to 15,000 gallon Stainless Tanks   (1) “V” Blender (10) Heat exchangers   (1)  Ribbon blender   (2) Rotex screeners   (2) Hosokawa mills   (1) Witte fluid bed dryer   We recycled the following quantities of materials: 1,350 tons of steel 150,000 pounds of stainless steel 10,000 tons - masonry (crushed and left on site)

Sanofi closed its Advanced Pharmaceutical Intermediates (API) Pilot Plant for business reasons in 2010 at its Bridgewater, NJ site.  In 2011, Sanofi also announced it would shutter the entire site and began planning to market it for sale as a business campus.  In line with selling the site as a business campus, Sanofi felt that removing the API plant and building would enhance the overall campus’s marketability. Sanofi obtained several proposals to simply demolish the building with price tags in excess of $1,000,000.  However, Phoenix was able to offer a significant payment to Sanofi and convert the plant area to a greenfield at no cost to Sanofi.  We purchased the assets in April 2012 and safely completed the scope of removal work by October 2012.     Our Solution Asset Recovery Summary Phoenix Equipment paid Sanofi for the plant and equipment and performed all removal and dismantlement work at no cost.  We were able to do this by leveraging our ability to purchase and resell process equipment.  Phoenix safely dismantled and rigged out at its own expense over 100 pieces of process equipment for resale, including: (13) Hastelloy Reactors, (9) Glass Lined Reactors, (3) Filter Dryers, (13) Hastelloy Heat Exchangers/Condensers, (3) Centrifuges, (4) Shelf Dryers, (12+) Sparkler and Nutsche Filters, (5) Milling Systems (10) Temperature Control Units, (10+) Tanks, (4) Chillers, (10+) Lab Equipment, and (10+) Scales.   100+ Pieces of Process Equipment 250,000 lbs+ of Non-ferrous material 1500 Ton+ of Carbon Steel Dismantlement Summary Total Plant Demolition Equipment Rigging Scrap Recycling   In addition to equipment removal and building demolition, Phoenix offered a turn-key demolition service as part of our acquisition that included the following: Geographical Survey, Disconnects and Utility Safe-offs, Electrical Terminations, Testing of Masonry Materials, Extermination, Soil Erosion Control and Landscaping.  Our 8 person crew spent six months at the NJ plant to safely perform the project without any injury or incident.  Phoenix utilized a Komatsu PC400 Excavator equipped with a shear, a Komatsu PC300 Excavator equipped with a grapple, various cranes ranging from 65 Tons to 500 Tons, various man-lifts, skid steer dozers and forklifts.  Our crew worked with the plant’s employees to time our operations in the plant’s active areas.

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

A major North American petro-chemical company, Nova Chemicals, ceased manufacturing of a certain polystyrene product at its Pennsylvania site due to changing markets.  The polystyrene plant was part of a larger site that had on-going operations.  The site owner wanted to have the entire footprint of the plant removed, as well as other parts of the plant that were no longer utilized.  As part of the complex removal project, our client also wanted to ensure it was receiving the most value for its surplus assets - the plant, equipment, and scrap resulting from the piping and structures.     Our Solution Phoenix Equipment leveraged our ability to purchase and resell chemical process equipment to drastically reduce the cost of the associated demolition, environmental and asbestos abatement work.  Phoenix safely dismantled and rigged out at its own expense over 50 pieces of process equipment for resale, including: (5) 6,000 Gallon Stainless Steel Reactors; (1) 15,000 Gallon Stainless Steel Reactor; (2) Gala Pellet Dryers; (5) Nash Vacuum Pump Skidded Systems; (1) 135 Cu. Ft. Stainless Steel Ribbon Blender and Dozens of Shell & Tube Heat Exchangers and Stainless Pressure Vessels & Tanks. Our experienced team of petrochemical dismantlement and demolition experts safely completed the entire project in just over eight (8) months.  Performing such work within an active plant required an acute attention to detail and highlights our safety record and ability to perform highly complex projects. Prior to dismantling the plant and several other areas within the larger remaining operational site, our company had to perform the asbestos abatement in various areas (work was subcontracted to a licensed abatement company); line break and remove Maleic Anhydride and Styrene from piping after developing safe and cost efficient methodologies to accomplish the removals; and removal and packaging of “Universal Waste” (i.e. fluorescent tubes, ballast, transformer and equipment oils, etc.). Besides some of the routine challenges encountered while performing dismantlement and demolition operations within active remaining plants, we had two major areas of concern that required extensive planning and expertise.   The first area involved taking down a 110’0” high main process building which had a party wall with a remaining one (1) story warehouse.  The process building’s elevator was located within the remaining warehouse, passing thru the warehouse’s roof to service the process building.  Our personnel used a 150 Ton crane to lift off the elevator structure and the upper portions of the process building, utilizing a manlift with a 125’0” high working platform for our personnel to make cuts for the removals. The second major challenge entailed the removal of a deteriorated 135’0” high steel water tower.  The tower was located near two elevated pipe bridges and an active office building, leaving only a 60’0” wide corridor for the tower’s removal.  Our crew first had to cable portions of the weakened tower together prior to using a 300 Ton crane for the actual lift.  Our crew utilized a manlift with a 162’0” working platform. Our crew of 12 utilized a 450 Daewoo excavator equipped with a grapple, a Komatsu PC300 excavator equipped with a shear, 75 ton Grove mobile crane, three (3) 843 Bobcats, a forklift and a lull to demolish the plant and other areas without an incident.  We also crushed the masonry materials created by our work to 2” minus and spread the material over the site, which alleviated the need to import gravel and saved our client substantial amount of money. We completed the entire project on time and on budget, and most importantly without any safety incidents.

Sunoco Chemical closed its aniline plant in 2001 due to changing markets.  The aniline plant was located within a larger facility that still operated several other chemical process plants.  As part of a corporate initiative to exit non-core businesses, the entire site was put up for sale.  However, prior selling the entire site, our client wanted to remove all assets associated with the non-operating portions of the site, which included the aniline plant as well as a thermal oxidizer area, boiler area, exhaust stack area and boneyard.   Our Solution   Asset Recovery / Sales Plan Phoenix Equipment paid Sunoco for the plant and equipment and performed all removal and dismantlement work at no cost to Sunoco.  Phoenix Equipment was able to pay Sunoco and perform the entire scope of dismantlement and environmental work by leveraging our ability to purchase and resell chemical process equipment far beyond inherent scrap value.  Phoenix safely dismantled and rigged out at its own expense over 45 pieces of process equipment for resale, including: (4) 90,000 gallon bullet tanks - 250 psi; Multi-Stage Pfaulder Wiped Film Evaporator System; Ammonia Recovery System; Riley Stoker Boiler System; Callidus Technologies Thermal Oxidizer System; (2) Stainless Steel Scrubbing Systems; Stainless Steel and Carbon Steel Packed and Tray Columns; (25+) Vertical and Horizontal Stainless Steel and Carbon Steel Shell & Tube Heat Exchangers.   Asset Recovery Summary 45+ Pieces of Process Equipment 1,000,000 lbs+ of Non-ferrous material 2500 Ton+ of Carbon Steel   Dismantlement Work The various areas removed in our asset recovery work at the plant presented numerous problems which had to be solved safely and economically by our company. The Aniline Plant covering over 80,000 square feet of space had been shut down over 10 years ago, including the closure of water and chemical sewers in the area.  The plant records showed that the equipment and piping had been cleaned but an Alumina pellet catalyst might remain in two reactors and residue might remain in several heat exchangers.  Phoenix could not verify the extent of the areas clean-up operation from 10 years prior so we set-up an equipment/piping clean-up area within the Aniline Area, set up water to the clean-up area, and we connected the clean-up area to the active chemical sewer in an adjacent active area. Using appropriate PPE, our workers performed line breaks of the piping at the equipment connections and low points, moving the equipment (i.e. columns, heat exchangers, etc.) and piping to the clean-up area as necessary.  The two reactors in the Aniline Area did contain Alumina catalyst which we had tested.  Through our contacts, we were able to find a recycler for the catalyst instead of expensive landfilling saving significant money. The four 90,000 gallon bullet tanks we removed were in a diked area surrounded by soft earth.  Our PE designed a cost effective dunnage system allowing our crane to sit close enough for safe and economical lifts. The area housing the Riley-Stokes Boiler system also contained a 150’0” high column to be removed.  The area was surrounded by elevated active pipe bridges and an active tank storage area.  Sparks emanating from our cutting operations had to be minimized.  Phoenix devised a system to contain the sparks and using a man-lift and a 300 Ton crane we dismantled the column. The Thermal Oxidizer was located beneath a remaining steel structure which supported active equipment and piping. The Oxidizer had to be sectionalized and carefully removed. Our 10 person crew spent seven months at the Ohio plant to safely perform the project without any injury or incident.  Phoenix utilized a Komatsu PC400 Excavator equipped with a shear, a Komatsu PC300 Excavator equipped with a grapple, various cranes ranging from 65 Tons to 500 Tons, various man-lifts, skid steer dozers and forklifts.  Our crew worked with the plant’s employees to time our operations in the plant’s active areas.   Dismantlement Summary Process Equipment and Piping Rinsing Catalyst Recovery Equipment Rigging Plant Dismantlement and Demolition Scrap Recycling