Although petrochemicals are an independent branch apart from the major petroleum industry, they are still related, since petrochemicals are just the output from the input of petroleum. Petrochemicals has also been the fourth largest manufacturing sector in sales and third value-added subset of chemicals in Canada, with 250 facilities in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. Half of the industry is located in Ontario, over one-quarter is located in Alberta, and less than one-quarter of the industry is located in Quebec. We have been very successful due to easy access to cheap oil and gas resource and transportation equipment.

   Alberta is a very attractive location for the Canadian petrochemical industry. There is evidently a bright future for natural resource available at unsurprisingly low prices. Two big corporal plant complexes already exist in Alberta, which are Joffre and Fort Saskatchewan. Joffre is attached to Alberta's ethane gathering system, while Fort Saskatchewan is close to an extensive pipeline connection, with an excellent underground salt cavern storage capacity. The two big corporations in the area are Dow Chemical Canada Incorporated and NOVA Chemicals Corporation.

DOW CHEMICAL CANADA INCORORATED

Dow has become one of the largest chemical companies in the world, with just some of its productions under the fields of chemical, plastic, and agriculture. There have been Exports to 160 countries, 121 manufacturing sites in 32 countries worldwide. Supplying more than 3 500 different selections of products, Dow is one of the biggest companies in the world. Calgary-based Dow owns 2 128 acres of the Fort Saskatchewan area. At Fort Saskatchewan, there are:¹⁵

• the Fractionator Plant, Ethylene Plant and Storage for hydrocarbon products
• two plants for Chlor-Alkali
• a Ethylene Dichloride Plant and Vinyl Chloride Monomer plant
• Ethylene Oxide plants and an Ethylene Glycol plant for Ethylene Oxide products
• a plant producing STYROFOAM* brand insulation
• power and utilities

   Products produced are used in many everyday products, such as the ethylene required to make all types of plastics. Plastics are very common, used for car parts, house siding, flooring, piping, medical supplies, food packaging, toys, clothing, etc. As you can see, since we use plastic in so many things, ethylene has become the most important of most petrochemicals. Dow has been the world's largest producer since the late 1950s, worth up to $3 billion. They are also part of the Canadian Chemical Producers Association's Responsible Care® program. The Candian Chemical Producers Association's Responsible Care® is a program concerned with protecting the environment.

NOVA CHEMICALS CORPORATION

   NOVA is working in and expanding the Joffre site.

   Since Canada has become such a "biggy" in the petrochemical industry, many Far East companies are in active joint projects with Canadian companies. For example, Shell Chemicals Canada is in a joint project with Mitsubishi Chemical, from Japan, to build a new ethylene glycol plant in Alberta.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

   Petrochemicals are not cheap to make. Proper facilities, maintenance and technique are involved. None of which can be missing. There are many processes the chemicals must go through.

   Carbon dioxide and natural gas make natural gas liquids, such as ethane, propane and butane, naphtha, gas oil, refinery gases, etc. They are then mixed, heated, and pressurized, resulting in primary petrochemicals, or "first level" petrochemicals. The primary petrochemicals can be converted into intermediate and derivative petrochemicals. For every level chemicals are processed through, value is added to the base petrochemical product. The intermediate and derivative branches form vast family of organic chemicals. Polymerization is the most important chemical process because it provides materials necessary for plastics, clothing fibres and synthetic rubber. Inorganic and specialty chemicals are formed from intermediate levels and additives used for paper industry, paints, rubbers, plastics, foods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides. A main inorganic production involves sulphur where it is reacted with other compounds to produce phosphorous or nitrogen based fertilizers for agriculture.

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