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BOC Immingham Dissolved Acetylene Project Environmental Statement: Vol. 2 Main Text
Alternatives
Site and Layout Alternatives
3.168 BOC considered a large number of sites for the Project, at both a local and national level. A full
description of the site selection process is provided in Appendix 9D. The Immingham site was the
only site that fulfilled all of the search criteria and was selected as it has the advantages of:
� being able to ensure a safe distance (200 m buffer) between the facility and the public;
� as a result of all the other chemicals and manufacturing industries along the Humber:
- the HSE and emergency services in the area are familiar with and trained in dealing with
chemical process and gases, and
- there is a skilled labour pool in the area;
� proximity to Immingham Docks, which gives good access to imported raw material and to the
European supply chain; and
� proximity to customers for the lime by-product.
3.169 The selection of the location and orientation of the facility within the Stallingborough site was
primarily safety based in relation to achieving appropriate separation distances between the
facility and the public. A further consideration for the layout has been the efficient usage of the site
so that as much of the land remaining can be used for agricultural purposes.
Process Alternatives
3.170 There two different processes for the manufacture of acetylene:
� reaction of calcium carbide with water; and
� as a gaseous by product from cracking crude oils.
3.171 In the UK, the main method is the reaction of carbide and water. This is due to the lack of
availability of crude oil feedstock where acetylene is required and to the economics of the
production process.
3.172 There are different methods of producing acetylene from carbide a low pressure method and a
medium high pressure method. For this development the low pressure route has been chosen on
safety grounds.
5100935.404 Environmental Statement August 2011 44