Sodium Cyanide Plant

Brief Overview
 

Capacity:

25,000 METRIC TPY
 

Shut Down:

March 2002

Raw Materials:

- Caustic Soda (50% solution)
- Anhydrous Ammonia
- Air
- Methane
 

Products Produced:

Liquid sodium cyanide (30% solutions)

Documentation:

Complete
 

Process Description

Liquid sodium cyanide will be manufactured in the plant through a two steps process. In the first step, ammonia, methane, and air will be reacted together over a metallic catalyst to make gaseous hydrogen cyanide. In the second step, the hydrogen cyanide gas will be reacted with caustic soda in an absorber to form sodium cyanide solution. These two processing steps take place continuously.

Product sodium cyanide will flow continuously from the absorber to two large storage tanks in the tank farm area. The storage tanks are heated in winter and cooled in summer to keep the stored solution from freezing or degrading. Railroad tank cars and truck cars can be filled from the storage tanks to ship product to customers.