HSE Wetherill Park
Located approximately 40km west of the centre of Sydney, Albright and Wilson’s facility at Wetherill Park occupies approximately 2.6 hectares at the western end of Davis Road. The company has been manufacturing surfactants at this location since 1978. Although the area is primarily industrial, the site is bordered to the north and west by bushland surrounding the Prospect Reservoir. Built in 1888, the reservoir is one of Sydney’s oldest but is now only used as an emergency drinking water supply.
Products Manufactured at Wetherill Park
The Albright and Wilson site manufacturers a comprehensive range of surfactants, detergent raw materials and concrete additives. These products find application in such industry groups as household products, personal care, building, mining and water treatment.
Did you know that the word surfactant is a contraction of the words surface-active agent, meaning a substance that exerts a change on the surface properties of a liquid, especially one that reduces its surface tension?
Raw Material Used at Wetherill Park
The primary raw materials used for manufacture on the Wetherill Park site are linear alkyl benzene, alcohol ethoxylates, lauryl alcohol, caustic soda, sulphur, naphthalene, sulphuric acid, formaldehyde and slaked lime.
Linear alkyl benzene is a clear, oily liquid produced by reaction of n-paraffin which is imported from Indonesia into Port Botany where it is stored in mild-steel tanks. When required for production, it is transported to Wetherill Park by road tanker and stored in above-ground tanks.
Lauryl alcohol (a palm kernel derivative), is another clear, oily liquid imported from Indonesia and stored at Port Botany. When delivered to Wetherill Park, it is stored in an underground tank.
Alcohol ethoxylates are used to manufacture ether sulphate surfactants and are delivered on site by road tankers and the raw material is stored in both underground and above-ground tanks.
Sulphur is burnt with air to produce sulphur dioxide, then converted to sulphur trioxide for reaction with organic feedstocks to produce surfactants. It is supplied in a molten state at 160 degrees Celsius by road tanker and is stored in underground pits.
Naphthalene is a dark brown liquid manufactured by the distillation of coal tar, a by-product of the coking of coal. It is delivered on site in dedicated Iso-tanks and stored in an above ground tank at 90 degrees Celsius.
Sulphuric acid reacts with naphthalene to produce beta-naphthalene sulphonic acid. It is a clear liquid.
Formaldehyde is also a clear liquid which reacts with naphthalene sulphonic acid to produce a polymer condensate. It is delivered in road tanks and stored at 50 degrees Celsius to ensure stability.
Slaked Lime – calcium hydroxide is a white powder used to neutralise condensate and remove excess sulphate by precipitation of calcium sulphate.
Caustic soda is a clear liquid used for the neutralisation of sulfo-acids.