In a recent announcement made by PVS Chemicals it was conveyed that the company had successfully started up a new MECS converter and steaming equipment which is licensed by DuPont Clean Technologies at the company’s sulfuric acid plant in Gent, Belgium. The new converter is equipped with 4 pass system which offers the plant capacity to increase to around 100 kilotons per year of Sulfuric Acid which also replaces two parallel converter trains.

The upgradation of the converter aside the new steaming equipment will allow PVC Chemicals to double the plant’s saturated steam production. With this in place PVS will not only be able to supply saturated steam to industrial neighbours but also will be preventing approximately 11 kilotons of Carbon Dioxide emissions.

The PVS Sulfuric Acid plant in Gent is among the few sites globally which are producing ultra-high purity grade Sulfuric Acid which is a critical ingredient in the semiconductor chip industry.

Sulfuric Acid is a strong inorganic acid. Its major application is in the production of fertilizers. Other applications of Sulfuric Acid include chemical manufacturing, metal processing, petroleum refining, textile industry, automotive batteries, pulp and paper, and electronics. The global demand for Sulfuric Acid stood at around 275 million tonnes in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 4% during the upcoming years.

As per ChemAnalyst, “the initiation of production of Sulfuric Acid at PVS Chemical’s new plant in Gent, Belgium is targeted at capturing the growing demand for Sulfuric Acid from various sectors such as fertilizers and electronics. The demand for Sulfuric Acid is rising due to the rise in the demand for nutrient rich food and the increasing consumption of consumer electronics in which the Sulfuric Acid is used in the cleaning of semiconductor materials.