Pascagoula-Mississippi Phosphates Corp. said Sept. 14 that its recently idled sulfuric acid plant will experience additional downtime to correct defects in prior repair work. A boiler in the affected plant, which is one of two 1,500 ton-per-day sulfuric acid plants at the company’s phosphate fertilizer facility in Pascagoula, Miss., suffered a major failure in July 2007 and required extensive repair work. The repairs were completed and sulfuric acid production was resumed in late August. However, production was again interrupted in early September due to the faulty repair work. A substantial rework of the defective repairs has been initiated and is expected to be completed by Oct. 1, 2007. While the company is cautiously optimistic that the defective work can be repaired, as a precautionary measure it has ordered materials for a replacement component for the boiler. If required, the fabrication and installation of a replacement component could take up to approximately two months. Based on the projected availability of sulfuric acid, DAP production should range between 1,300 and 1,500 tons per day during the shutdown. The company expects to meet all outstanding commitments to its customers and suppliers during this period.
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