Total plans to start steam cracker in mid-December

An explosion had impacted Total Petrochemical’s cracker in Carling in July, resulting in its shutdown. One unit of the plant was mothballed earlier this year as part of a broad plan to reduce capacity. Total plans to restart the plant which has been shut in Eastern France in mid-December. However, only one of the units, ie; the undamaged unit will be restarted. After the second unit resumes full operation in April 2010, the steam cracker will operate at full capacity. The plant uses naphtha as feedstock and produces 170,000 tpa of polyethylene and 180,000 tpa of polystyrene.