Major distributor Univar Solutions Inc., Downers Grove, Ill., on Jan. 26 announced an exclusive partnership with Nutrien Ltd., Saskatoon, for the marketing and distribution of hydrofluorosilicic acid (HFS or FSA) in the U.S. and Canada. Univar will be sourcing the product from a new plant at Nutrien’s phosphate facility in White Springs, Fla., which is expected to be operational near the end of 2021.
Univar said the agreement strengthens its ability to reliably service municipal drinking water plants with HFS/FSA. “We are pleased to add to our strong, existing HFS/FSA business and market-leading water treatment capabilities,” said Brian Jurcak, Univar Vice President of Product Marketing Management.
“This incremental addition of Nutrien’s HFS/FSA strengthens our long-term supply of this critical product primarily used in drinking water, and will enable us to continue supporting essential products and services for our customers well into the future,” he added.
Under the new contract, Univar has exclusive marketing and distribution rights for HFS/FSA produced at the White Springs plant. The agreement will supplement Univar’s historically sourced supply from Nutrien’s Aurora, N.C., facility, which is expected to terminate supply to Univar by year end.
Nutrien said it is not ending production of HFS/FSA at Aurora, but is redirecting it to the previously announced project for Arkema’s anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (AHF) plant (GM June 5, 2020), which is scheduled for commissioning in early 2022. It said the new HFS/FSA plant at White Springs is expected to meet most of the demand previously served by Aurora.