Naphthenic Acids
A Formula for Success
- World’s Largest Supplier of Naphthenic Acid
- Unsurpassed Range of Grades and Properties
- Custom Designed Naphthenic Acids for Every Application
- Reliable, On-time Delivery - Every Time
- World-class Research and Development
- Superior Service
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, USA, Merichem is the world’s largest producer of naphthenic acid. The world-scale plant is Located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on the picturesque Black Warrior river. With a global source of raw materials coupled with superior production technology, our customers receive the products they need to meet their specifications each and every time they order. Our customized naphthenic acids can make a world of difference in your products and your bottom line.
Unsurpassed Range of Grades and Properties
As the world’s largest manufacturer of naphthenic acids, Merichem offers an unsurpassed range of naphthenic acid grades:
- Crude
- Semi-Refined
- High-purity refined
- Custom blends
With over 50 years of experience in the specialty chemicals business, Merichem has a world of expertise in meeting your highest quality standards. When you use our naphthenic acids, you get more than the right grade, acid number and color for your application - you get a dedicated team of people committed to providing the performance, service and economy that have made us the world’s leading supplier of naphthenic acid.
Formulations Customized for Every Application
Merichem is the only U.S. supplier offering all grades of naphthenic acids in formulations customized to meet your specifications. Our naphthenic acids are unmatched for top performance in these and many other applications:
- Paint and ink driers
- Catalysts
- Tire cord adhesion promoters
- Wood preservatives
- Oil field corrosion inhibitors and surfactants
- Fuel additives
- Metalworking and lubricant additives
- PVC plasticizers and stabilizers
- Emulsifiers and surfactants
- Hydraulic fluids
- Asphalt and Concrete
Merichem naphthenic acids - known the world over for outperforming other organic acids in both cost effectiveness and quality.
Our Global Source of Feedstocks Means Reliable, On-time Delivery — Every Time
Merichem offers a unique service to refiners worldwide: A turn-key approach to solving their concerns about fuel-product acidity, based on our patented treating technology and equipment. We recover naturally occurring naphthenic acids, associated with the kerosene/jet fuel, diesel and gas oil fractions of geologically young heavy crude oils. Our technology generates especially high concentrations of naphthenic acids. These rich feedstocks are then processed cost effectively in our Tuscaloosa, Alabama, naphthenic acid plant.
Refinery streams from our client companies provide Merichem with a reliable source of high-quality feedstocks. In addition, we recently expanded the capacity of the Merichem Catalyst plant, our dedicated facility at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, by 30 percent. We can now produce 20 million pounds per year of the world’s finest naphthenic acids, and deliver to customers around the world via truck, drum, barge or rail car.
Our People Are Dedicated to Meeting Your Standards
Our vast experience is backed by a world-class research and development effort at our on-site laboratory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and our Houston Research Center. Our talented team of engineers, chemists and technical service specialists make the Merichem commitment to quality and performance a reality. In addition to providing quality control and technical service for our customers, these experts are constantly researching new ways to advance our technology, improve our products and serve our customers even better.
Top Quality Naphthenic Acids for Every Application
We produce crude, semi-refined and refined naphthenic acids from refinery-based raw material sources found around the world. Our extensive raw materials base and expert manufacturing capabilities enable us to custom-design naphthenic acids meeting any customer specifications, giving the customer an opportunity to design unique products.
Naphthenic Acids Give You a Performance Edge
Specify naphthenic acids whenever a unique cycloaliphatic acid intermediate can enhance your formulations with:
- Improved solubility and hydrolytic/oxidative stability
- Improved surface or pigment wetting
- Lower pour point
- More complete reaction
Crude Naphthenic Acid
Merichem can provide crude naphthenic acid products ranging in acid number from 160 to 230. Through a patented process, very high purity acids and specialty blends are also available with acid numbers ranging from 220 to 310.
Merichem crude naphthenic acid products are typically used as corrosion inhibitors and wood preservatives.
Crude naphthenic acids vary in unsaponifiable (non-carboxylic acid) matter from 7 percent to 30 percent by weight, but typically fall in the 10-20 percent range.
Crude naphthenic acids are used in applications that have no color requirements. Merichem also makes refined naphthenic acids with color levels as low as 3 on the Gardner Scale.
Semi-Refined Naphthenic Acid
Merichem can provide semi-refined naphthenic acid products ranging in acid number from 180 to 260. Semi-refined naphthenic acid products are typically used as lubricant additives and wood preservatives. Semi-refined naphthenic acids vary in unsaponifiable (non-carboxylic acid) matter from 5 percent to 10 percent by weight. Our high-purity naphthenic acids have a maximum of 3 percent unsaponifiables by weight.
Semi-refined naphthenic acids are used in applications that have no color requirements. Merichem also makes refined naphthenic acids with color levels as low as 3 on the Gardner Scale.
Refined Naphthenic Acid
Merichem can provide refined naphthenic acid products ranging in acid number from 200 to 260. Through a patented process, very high purity acids and specialty blends are also available with acid numbers ranging from 220 to 310.
Merichem refined naphthenic acid products are typically used as driers for paints and inks, lubricant additives, fuel additives, heat/UV stabilizers and cutting oils.
Refined naphthenic acids have a maximum unsaponifiable (non-carboxylic acid) matter from 4 percent to 8 percent by weight. Our high-purity naphthenic acids have a maximum of 3 percent unsaponifiables by weight.
Merichem naphthenic acid products are customized to match your application and specifications. Our technical sales staff and Research and Development department will be happy to assist you in determining your needs.
