folc.ca's comment on HAZCO's answer to FAQ #4

Note: The background text in the following was copied from the Frequently-asked Questions page at HAZCO's website, Nov. 2, 2005.  HAZCO's answers to "frequently asked questions" deserve further comments.  Those comments are inserted where required in HAZCO's text and are shown on yellow background.

From HAZCO's FAQ web page (quoted verbatim):

FAQ #4. What will it [the sulphur-storage and -handling site] look like when completed?  How big will the sulphur pile be?  Will it be stacked in blocks or a giant pile?

The facility will consist of a storage tank area, office/manufacturing structure, product receiving and storage area, surface water storage pond, and a rail loading area.  It is intended that the storage pile will be less than 50 feet tall and cover an area of less than 3 acres (1.2 ha.).  Sulphur may be stored as both block and finished product depending on market conditions.

Comment: Notice that HAZCO does not state, How big the storage tank area or its capacity would be. What will be stored in the storage tanks, liquid sulphur for short-term storage or liquid sulphur for long-term storage (the latter is impractical unless the sulphur is poured into blocks) Whether the storage tanks will be part of the initial operation; How large the sulphur blocks will be; That both the storage pile of prills and the sulphur block are not maybes but given in HAZCO's sulphur facility.  What is a maybe are the sizes of the respective storage areas required for the respective storage methods.  (Update 2005 11 20: According to page 32 of HAZCO's application the capacity of the sulphur prill pile will be 45,000 tonnes) At least the sizes and numbers of the sulphur blocks will be a consequence of market conditions.  There is a glut of sulphur on the world market, as sulphur is being removed very stringently from fuels in all fuel-producing nations to meet greatly tightened environmental requirements.    The supply exceeds the demand.  The market demand will begin to vanish and lessen Canada's prospects for exporting sulphur when syncrude is exported to China and China will do its own upgrading and desulphurization, although HAZCO insists that its marketing prospects for sulphur in China will improve.    HAZCO mentioned in various exchanges that their sulphur block would be used for temporary storage of sulphur, but its definitions of what is temporary vary by 40 years.  HAZCO mentioned 25 years as well as 65 years, even though the sulphur industry appears to regard storage for up to a year as interim, and intervals longer than a year as long-term.    Mind you, on Nov. 4, 2005, HAZCO's representative at the Lamont HAZCO information office adamantly insisted that absolutely no sulphur block storage at all will be employed.  She did so while she, my neighbour and I were standing at the map on the counter that showed an area clearly identified as being for sulphur block storage (Update 2005 11 20: See also the attachments to HAZCO's Oct. 19, 2005 application, pp. 70 to 72).  She also said that the map was out of date and did not reflect the scope and nature of the design that HAZCO recently filed an application for.  Moreover, she stated that up-to-date maps and other information details about the current application cannot be made available, as that would be too expensive. World Sulphur Market Trends World sulfur production and U.S. unit values, 1900 to 1998. Data from the Minerals Yearbook, v. 1, and its predecessors (published by the U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1927-94, and the U.S. Geological Survey, 1900-27, 1995-2001). The unit value (1998$/metric ton) is defined as one metric ton of sulfur apparent consumption as reported by U.S. Geological Survey, divided by the Consumer Price Index for that commodity with a base year of 1998 __________________ Source of graph and associated text: SULFUR CASE STUDY,   U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior http://pubs.usgs.gov/openfile/of01-197/app5.htm Last modified 08.07.01 (jmw) Contact David Wilburn Maintained by the Eastern Publications Group Accessibility Update 2006 10 16: End Update 2006 10 16 See also: Sulphur Surplus in the Making Impacts Refineries, by R.J. Morris, the Sulphur Institute; Presented at 2003 NPRA Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX, March 23-25, 2003 (Link to paper)    The paper discusses world trends in sulphur demand, production and inventory.  The paper mentions that sulphur production by mining has been almost entirely replaced by sulphur as a co-product of the oil and gas industry.  "Co-product" in that context is a code word for waste product or liability. Ninety-seven percent of the world sulphur production now stems from the oil and gas industry.  Oil and gas production (along with sulphur production) is increasing, while the market demand for sulphur is falling. (Link to paper)

Next FAQ

Back to index page to HAZCO's FAQs

Back to index page for Hazco sulphur storage site pages

Back to Bruderheim Main Page

Created Nov. 4, 2005
Updates:
2005 (added various updates based on the HAZCO opne hous and public discussion forum dated Nov. 17, 2005; added information on world sulphur market trends)
2006 10 16 (reformated)