Praxair Inc. has started up a hydrogen facility that will recover by-product streams from The Dow Chemical Co.”™s Freeport, Texas operations. Under a long-term contract, Praxair is supplying high-purity hydrogen back to Dow in order to meet the company”™s needs across Southeast Texas. Additionally, the hydrogen will be used by Praxair to help supply increasing customer demand in the region.
Praxair, headquartered in Danbury, has also signed a long-term contract with Dow to supply nitrogen for its chemical production facility. The nitrogen supply is expected to start in 2019. Dow will use both gases to support the production of a number of specialty chemicals used in several diverse end markets, including automobile manufacturing, coating applications and chemical intermediates.
As part of the Freeport operation, Praxair is processing, recovering and compressing by-product hydrogen from Dow”™s ethylene production facilities, which will include the company”™s new world-scale ethylene cracker scheduled to come on line this year. Praxair said the deal is part of an initiative to enable hydrogen to be produced to meet industry demands with significantly lower carbon dioxide emissions than by conventional means.
Both gases will be distributed through Praxair”™s extensive U.S. Gulf Coast pipeline network to Dow”™s Texas City and Freeport facilities and will help meet growing demand from other customers in the region. Praxair already has pipeline access to Texas City and recently extended its U.S. Gulf Coast pipeline systems approximately 46 miles to the Freeport area.
