Speciality Chemicals07-Oct-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Milton strengthened on Monday
into a powerful Category 4 hurricane, and it is
expected to continue strengthening before
making landfall by midweek near Tampa, Florida,
a major fertilizer hub that was drenched by an
earlier major hurricane.

That earlier hurricane, Helene, made landfall
on September 26 far to the north of Tampa.
However, Tampa still saw storm surges of 6-10
feet (1.8-3.0 meters), according to
AccuWeather, a meteorology firm. Tampa and
other ports along Florida’s Gulf Coast had shut
down because of Helene.

AccuWeather estimates that Hurricane Helene
caused $225 billion to $250 billion of damage
and economic loss in Florida and the
southeastern US.

As of September 30,
fertilizer companies were assessing the
damage caused by Hurricane Helene. A week
later, they will now prepare for another major
hurricane that will pose a greater risk.

AccuWeather is warning that, due to Milton, the
Tampa Bay region could be hit by a storm surge
of 10-15 feet, wind gusts of 120-140 miles/hour
(193-225 miles/hour) and more than 2 feet (60
cm) of rain.

“Milton may be a historic, once-in-a-lifetime
storm for Floridians,” said Jon Porter,
AccuWeather chief meteorologist. “Milton has
the potential to become one of Florida’s most
damaging and costly hurricanes.”

For Tampa, the magnitude of Milton’s storm
surge will depend on its path, according to
AccuWeather. If it makes landfall south of
Tampa, it will cause dangerous, but not
extreme, storm surges.

If landfall is north of Tampa, parts of the Bay
could suffer from storm surges of 20 feet,
AccuWeather said.

FERTILIZER HUB, PHOSPHATES AT
RISKTampa is an important hub
for the US fertilizer industry, hosting
corporate offices, trading, product storage,
shipping and other logistical operations.

Near Tampa is
Florida’s phosphate mining operations in
Bone Valley, which covers parts of Hardee,
Hillsborough, Manatee and Polk counties.

In all, Florida has 27 phosphate mines, of
which nine are active, according to
the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection.

For chemicals, there is some epoxy resin,
phenolic resin and unsaturated polyester resin
production in Lakeland and Kathleen, Florida.
Both are near Tampa.

Milton will make landfall far from Pensacola,
Florida, which has plants that make nylon and
thermoset resins.

PORT TAMPA BAY REMAINS
OPENPort Tampa Bay remains open
to inbound and outbound vessel traffic, but it
has set Port Condition X-RAY. That means gale
force winds that could disrupt maritime
operations could occur in the next 48 hours.

SeaPort Manatee, a deepwater port on Tampa Bay,
also set Port Condition X-Ray. It handled bulk,
breakbulk and container traffic.

RAIL STILL RECOVERING FROM
HELENEOn October 4, railroad
company CSX warned customers to expect delays
despite progress in restoring power and
clearing trees. Disruptions to operations are
concentrated in the Carolinas.

Railroad company Norfolk Southern said it has
already started monitoring Hurricane Milton,
although its lines are operating as scheduled.

POTENTIAL FOR DISRUPTION TO GULF
OILHurricane Helene disrupted US
oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico
even though it passed through the eastern
portion of the body of water.

Hurricane Milton could have the same potential
as it approaches the US.

RECONSTRUCTION DEMAND FOR
CHEMSFor hurricanes in general,
reconstruction can translate to increased
demand for many chemicals and polymers.

The white pigment titanium dioxide (TiO2) is
used in paints.

Solvents used in paints and coatings include
butyl acetate (butac), butyl acrylate
(butyl-A), ethyl acetate (etac), glycol ethers,
methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and isopropanol
(IPA).

Blends of aliphatic and aromatic solvents are
also used to make paints and coatings.

For polymers, expandable polystyrene (EPS) and
polyurethane (PU) foam are used in insulation.

Polyurethanes are made of methylene diphenyl
diisocyanate (MDI), toluene diisocyanate (TDI)
and polyols.

High density polyethylene (HDPE) is used in
pipe. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is used to make
cladding, window frames, wires and cables,
flooring and roofing membranes.

Unsaturated polyester resins (UPR) are used to
make coatings and composites.

Vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) is used to make
paints and adhesives.

Thumbnail shows the forecasts path of
Hurricane Milton. Image by the National
Hurricane Center.