that may heavily stress local land and water resources and cause major 

 problems with noise, odor, and pollution. 



New petrochemical plants are often located near existing plants, 

 refineries, and gas processing plants because of the favorable economics 

 of a nearby source of feedstock, the advantage of concentrated services 

 and labor force, and the value of local acceptance. (For example, the 

 Arco Chemical Company located a new ethylene plant on 250 acres of an 

 existing 2,000 acre petrochemical complex in Texas.) [24] 



A petrochemical plant may vary in size from a modest extension of an 

 oil refinery to an independent operation located on a 200-acre to 1,000- 

 acre site. Plant production may range from a capacity as low as 500 B/D 

 to over 50,000 B/D. Initial investment costs are estimated at $250 

 million to $350 million, with a construction period of 2 to 3 

 years [24, 12, 15]. 



The major components of a petrochemical plant are: (1) the processing 

 area, which includes feedstock preparation units, chemical reactors, 

 product separators, and purification units; (2) areas for energy production, 

 and water supply and treatment systems; (3) administrative areas, including 

 laboratories, control buildings, parking lots, and (4) buffer areas and 

 areas for future expansion. 



3.8.2 Site Requirements 



Siting requirements for a major petrochemical plant include a large 

 supply of fresh water, an extensive tract of land, a large amount of fuel 

 and electric power; and a receptive community. The site also must have 

 geological stability because of the potential hazards (fire, explosion, 

 noxious gas) of a petrochemical plant. Proximity to a source of feedstock 

 is an important siting consideration, since large volumes of feedstock are 

 required and transportation costs are high. The availability of supporting 

 physical infrastructure, in terms of transportation, communications, 

 housing, necessary services and maintenance industries, is a major siting 

 requirement. 



The close correlation between numbers of refineries and petrochemical 

 plants in the Gulf Coast states is shown below [12]. 



Refineries Petrochemical Plants 



Texas 20 86 



Louisiana 9 44 



Florida (Gulf of Mexico) 1 4 



A typical major petrochemical plant requires 200 to 350 acres of 

 land [24]. Strong load-bearing soils are required for the processing and 

 storage tank areas. Petrochemical plants usually are located next to 



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