Chemical Industry

Another wheelbarrow shot from the Monckton Coke Works. This is part of the by-product plant.

The coke car at Monckton Cokeworks is propelled by cable haulage and positioned using a laser seen here reflected on the mirror attached to the car.

A look at some of the gas and liquid storage in the by-product plant at Monckton coke works. Sadly this plant closed in December.

The loading hoppers move into position for charging an oven at the Monckton Cokeworks.

Stanlow oil refinery seen over the Castner Kellner chemical works at Runcorn. The Mersey estuary intervenes between the two areas of chemical production.

I find the great variety of industrial chimneys and pipework fascinating and attempt to record it whilst on my travels. This is part of the Huntsman Pigments and Additives plant next to the Trent & Mersey Canal at Kidsgrove. The site was formerly occupied by the Brookfield Foundry & Engineering Co Ltd as their California Works. Huntsman is one of the largest worldwide suppliers of inorganic color pigments for construction, coatings, plastics and specialty applications. The company manufactures and processes iron oxide and mixed metal oxide color pigments and supplies a wide range of natural and synthetic inorganic pigments.

BP's Kimmeridge oilwell on the Dorset coastline is the oldest continually producing wellsite in the United Kingdom. It was drilled in 1959 and now produces 80 barrels (12,720) litres of crude oil per day. The oil is stored in the tanks to the left of the image and collected twice a week by road tanker. It is taken to the Gathering Station at Wytch Farm near Corfe Castle and thence by pipeline to the terminal near Southampton. The oilfield here is now operated by the French company Perenco.

A view from Paull towards the storage tanks of the Saltend Chemical Park . BP Chemicals Ltd established Saltend Chemicals Park in 2009. Today a range of organisations operate on the 370-acre site, sharing an established infrastructure and extensive provision of services, feedstocks and utilities In the background is the Salt End cogeneration plant which was commissioned in 2000 by Entergy an American power generator. It was later sold to Calpine Corporation, also an American power generator, in August 2001 for £562 million. In July 2005, Salt End was sold to International Power and Mitsui (70:30 share) for £500 million. As far as I can ascertain it is now owned and operated by GDF SUEZ Energy UK-Turkey. The site was built by Mitsubishi (MHI) and Raytheon. The station is run on gas using single shaft 3 x Mitsubishi 701F gas Turbines machines with Alstom 400 MWe generators. The station has a total output of 1200 MW; of that 100 MW is allocated to supply BP Chemicals. Each gas turbine has a Babcock Borsig Power (BBP) heat recovery steam generator, which all lead to one steam turbine per unit (single shaft machine means Gas turbine and Steam Turbine are on the same shaft). The waste steam at the rate of about 120 tonnes/hr is sold to BP Chemicals to use in their process. This makes Saltend one of the most efficient power stations in the UK.

Oil pumped by the nodding donkey in the background is stored in tanks on this site for collection by road tanker. This makes it a bonded site with a range of draconian penalties for anyone caught removing the oil without permission from HMRC. Grange de Lings, Lincolnshire.

A coke car filled with red hot coke is under the tower and the quenching process has just begun at the Monckton Cokeworks. This view was from the top of the main coal bunker at the end of the ovens.

In 2002 Cargill UK acquired its Trafford Park site from Cerestar who had taken it over from Corn Products in 1987. The site processes wheat for its UK sweeteners, industrial starches and texturant businesses. The plant and offices produces sweeteners and wheat proteins for food customers in the confectionery, brewing, beverage, dairy and bakery sectors. In addition to the food sector, the Manchester plant also serves the needs of the farming and aquaculture sectors with animal feed products and vital wheat gluten.

Huntsman Pigments and Additives serves a wide range of market sectors from household decorative paints and industrial coatings on ocean liners, cars and steel-framed buildings, to printing inks, fibres, packaging, construction, automotive, medical, health, consumer electronics and sports and leisure. Their titanium dioxide pigments can be found in everything cars to trainers. Production began at their Billingham site in 1934.

Gas storage in the by-product plant at Monckton coke works which plant closed in December 2014 soon after this photo was taken.

Oil wells at work behind Gainsborough Central Station. The output may be fairly small but the quality of the oil is very high.

Coke ovens and coke car at the mini cokeworks outside Hegang in Heilongjiang Province, China. This was fairly newly built when I visited in 2005 and yet seems to have been demolished on the latest aerial images. Industry moves on fast in China! I was waved in to take photos this time but when I returned in 2008 the whole place was locked down tight with big fences and security guards.

The loading area at the Wallerscote works of Brunner Mond / ICI incorporates this telpher which could be used for loading boats and road vehicles. The site is now being demolished and will be replaced by housing.

Clear rules at the Monckton cokeworks.

A door scene at the now demolished Monckton coke works at Royston in Yorkshire.