Facility

Arkema Lacq Thiochemicals Complex

Arkema's Lacq facility in the French Pyrenees (commune of Lacq, Pyrénées-Atlantiques) is the world's primary production site for tert-butyl mercaptan (TBM), the dominant North American natural gas odorant. Lacq is a historic natural gas production site — France's largest natural gas field produced there from the 1950s–1990s. The sulfur-rich character of Lacq natural gas created the industrial sulfur chemistry infrastructure that Arkema now uses for mercaptan synthesis. TBM is produced by addition of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) to isobutylene in the presence of a catalyst. Lacq is estimated to supply the majority of North American TBM and a large share of European TBM. A single-site disruption (fire, explosion, earthquake, or extended maintenance) would constrain global TBM supply within weeks. Source: https://www.arkema.com/global/en/products/thiochemicals/