BOSTON—Cabot Corp. has reached a significant milestone in its efforts to comply with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiative to control air emissions at carbon black manufacturing facilities.
The U.S. supplier has "received and installed" all major emission control equipment at its production site in Franklin, La., where it produces more than 70 grades of carbon blacks for elastomer reinforcement and specialty products.
In a June 26 statement, Cabot said the project had completed 90 percent of the estimated person-hours required and was expected to finish ahead of the industry's April 2021 EPA deadline.
Cabot said it reached the significant milestone despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges caused by Hurricane Barry.
"We are proud of our continued leadership in cleaner air emissions across the world and the significant investment we are making in Louisiana," said Bart Kalkstein, Cabot's president of reinforcement materials segment and the Americas Region.
At the Franklin plant, Cabot said it will reduce NOX emissions by 90 percent through the use of selective catalytic control and SO2 emissions by 95 percent using wet gas scrubbing.
These will represent a cut in emissions of NOX and SO2 by nearly 900 and 6,500 metric tons per year, respectively, at its Franklin plant.
The facility upgrade follows Cabot's 2017 emissions control project at its plant in Pampa, Texas.
There, the company said it had reduced NOX emissions by 67 percent, eliminating nearly 1,500 tons of emissions throughout the last three years.
"We remain committed to acting responsibly for the planet, and ... this includes doing our part to upgrade older facilities with investments in new technology," Kalkstein said.
Operational since 1952, the Franklin site employs approximately 130 people and has six manufacturing units, serving customers across North America.