Air Products (Lehigh Valley, Pa.; www.airproducts.com) says it will build a new large air separation unit (LASU) in Ulsan, South Korea. The investment demonstrates the company’s commitment to the southern region and across Korea to meet increasing demand driven by the refining, petrochemical, and non-ferrous metals industries, as well as the merchant gas market.
Scheduled to come onstream in 2018, the state-of-the-art, over 1,750-ton/d LASU will produce gaseous and liquefied oxygen, nitrogen and argon. The plant will meet the increasing demand of Air Products’ existing and future pipeline customers in Ulsan, as well as the liquid gas market.
“We are pleased to invest in this strategic location to support the growth plans of the refining, petrochemical, non-ferrous metals, and many other industries,” says Kyo-Yung Kim, president of Air Products Korea. “The new plant, built with our leading-edge technology, will enable us to better serve customers who depend on our safe, reliable and high-quality gases supply for their production.”
Ulsan is an industrial powerhouse for the country and home to many sectors including petroleum refining, automobile production, and shipbuilding. Air Products has been supplying the region for nearly 30 years and has built a pipeline system and gas facilities in Onsan’s large non-ferrous metals complex and Yongyeon’s petrochemical complex. This latest investment will enable the company to produce extra oxygen and nitrogen to meet increasing needs. The additional high-purity liquid argon, which is used in the chip manufacturing process and to maintain an ultra-clean atmosphere to protect manufacturing tools, will position Air Products to better serve the demand driven by integrated circuit and display customers.