Where Quality and Reliability

Always Make the Grade

The World Leader In Natural Soda Ash

FMC Corporation is the worlds leading producer of natural soda ash, offering a secure, reliable, diverse range of high quality products. For over six decades, FMC has been a dependable source of high quality soda ash from its facilities in Green River, Wyoming. Product quality, supply reliability, safety and customer service have been the hallmarks of our companys reputation. FMCs soda ash operations in Green River, home of the worlds largest deposits of trona ore, utilize a truly exceptional, multi-disciplined process, from mining, manufacturing and product development all the way through product delivery. Constant innovation is part of our guiding philosophy. Through innovations in mining and processing trona ore into natural soda ash, FMC has become the industry leader. As the first to produce a lower cost, environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic soda ash, FMC has built a solid track record of meeting the needs of customers in a wide range of industries such as glass manufacturing, detergent formulation, chemical manufacturing, pulp and paper production, and water treatment. Our team of research specialists continues to develop innovative mining and processing techniques that are revolutionizing the way soda ash is produced, bringing this vital and versatile product to our customers in a more costeffective, environmentally friendly manner.

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History
Fifty million years ago, southwestern Wyoming, including the land now occupied by FMCs Green River facility, was covered by a landlocked lake. As the earth changed through the ages, the lake evaporated and left behind a 200-billion ton deposit of pure trona wedged between layers of clay and shale.This is the worlds largest known deposit of trona.Trona is a mineral that is chemically sodium sesquicarbonate, and is the source of both the sodium and the carbonate used to manufacture soda ash. This monumental deposit was first mined by FMC in 1948. Today the mine, located 1,500 feet below the surface, contains nearly 3500 miles of tunnels and covers 36 square miles. In the early 1950s, FMC began producing soda ash at the worlds first natural soda ash processing plant. Since those pioneering days, FMC has become the largest producer of natural soda ash in the world.

Responsible Care, Sustainability & Safety

A prehistoric rock called trona. Trona, a mineral primarily containing sodium sesquicarbonate, is mined and processed into sodium carbonate, commonly known as soda ash, at our Green River facility. The origin of trona dates back fifty million years, when the area was covered by the 600 square-mile landlocked inland sea Lake Goshuite. As the earths climate changed and water evaporated, trona was deposited. This process left behind more than 200 billion tons of trona wedged between layers of clay and shale. FMCs facility at Green River sits atop a reserve of trona large enough to meet alkali demand for many decades to come.

FMC places the highest priority on our commitment to the environment and to the dedicated people who work at our facilities. FMC has a responsibility to protect the health and safety of our employees, business partners, neighbors and customers. Maintaining a safe and healthy work environment is paramount to the operation of our business. Protecting our most precious resource, our employees, prevents injury, which sustains the performance of our business and maintains the trust of the communities in which we operate. Natural soda ash production is substantially less energy intensive and produces less harmful pollutants than synthetic methods. We strive continuously to incorporate safety and health into every part of our companys work culture. FMC is engaging in sustainable innovation by maximizing the use of less toxic and safer materials in the design and development of new products; and where possible, working to replace existing products and chemistries with ones that are more benign or more beneficial. FMC is a signatory to Responsible Care as set forth by the American Chemistry Council in the US and committed to complying with the seven functional areas of Responsible Care: Pollution Prevention, Process Safety, Employee Health and Safety, Community Awareness and Emergency Response, Distribution Stewardship, Product Stewardship and Security.

Production
Mining As you walk across the ground at our Green River facility, its hard to imagine the tremendous activity taking place beneath your feet. Fifteen hundred feet below the ground and accessed through one of several FMC mine shafts, is an aroundthe-clock mining operation.
FMC pioneered longwall mining for the natural soda industry by adapting this efficient coal mining technique to trona mining. A powerful longwall shearing machine moves along a 750 foot wide face of the trona seam, removing trona with cutting drums. The recovered trona is then dropped onto a continuous conveyor system and moved to the surface. The longwall method extracts 50% more of the trona deposit than traditional mining methods. In addition to mechanical mining, FMC developed and patented solution mining technology. In our current implementation of this technology, water and insoluble tailings are injected into mined out areas that still hold unrecovered trona. Water dissolves the residual trona, forming an alkali-rich solution which is then pumped back to the surface for processing. The result is a high-purity, low-cost soda ash that dramatically increases our ability to deliver value and volume to the world markets. Advanced mining techniques have been one cornerstone of our success. Over the years these methods have enabled FMC to stay a step ahead of the competition and economically expand our capacity to meet growing market demands.

FMC offers a wide variety of soda ash grades for a spectrum of applications and uses. By offering the broadest selection of grades, FMC provides our customers with exceptional application specificity and flexibility. FMC was the first to produce light density soda ash and continues to offer the most natural grades available.

Manufacturing FMCs Green River, Wyoming surface operation is the worlds largest natural soda ash facility. FMC has five surface plants capable of producing nearly 5 million short tons of soda ash per year. FMC manufactures soda ash using three different processes.
FMCs proprietary sesquicarbonate sesqui processing method has been utilized by this facility since 1953. The sesqui process begins as trona ore is crushed and dissolved.The insolubles are separated and removed, and the trona is crystallized as pure sodium sesquicarbonate. Finally, these crystals are heated in calciners to produce soda ash. FMCs patented monohydrate mono production method differs from the sesqui process in that the order of processing is reversed. First the trona ore is heated and then it is dissolved. The insolubles are separated and removed, and the purified solution is sent to large evaporators where sodium carbonate monohydrate crystallizes out. Finally, the water is driven off to leave behind pure anhydrous soda ash crystals. FMCs newest production method utilizes patented technology to make soda ash from solution mined liquors. In this process the solution from the mine is first concentrated through evaporation. It is then reacted with lime to convert residual sodium bicarbonate to sodium carbonate. The carbonate goes through a two-step crystallization process to form first decahydrate crystals, and then monohydrate crystals. These are then calcined to produce soda ash.

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Applications
Soda ash has been used in manufacturing for over 5,000 years. Ancient Egyptians recovered the product from dry lake-bed deposits or manufactured it by burning seaweed and other marine plants. This product was used to make glass ornaments and vessels. The Romans used soda ash for baking bread, making glass, and for medicinal purposes.Today, FMC supplies soda ash to a wide variety of industries.

Glass Globally, about half of all soda ash is consumed by the glass industry. Flat glass for autos, homes and buildings, and container glass for consumer products are the two largest segments. Other products include lighting, glassware, screens for consumer electronics and solar glass. Soda ash reduces the melting temperature of the sand used in glass formulations and the alkali helps aid in the workability or forming of the glass article. FMCs Grade 260 Dense Soda Ash particles are similar in size to silica sand, enabling the homogeneity of raw materials that is so important in producing a high quality finished product. Detergents Soda ash is widely used in soaps, detergents and other cleaning products. It is a good source of alkalinity for pH adjustment, a carrier of surfactants and dyes and an effective precipitating builder for removing hardness ions from water. In the detergent manufacturing process, soda ash aids agglomeration and may be used to neutralize the acid form of anionic surfactants. It enables easier conveying and ideal surfactant loading. Soda ash can also be hydrated to carry water as a filler and to enhance the storage and dissolving properties of the detergent. Soda ash is also an ideal high alkalinity builder for hard surface cleaning compounds and can be used as a source of alkalinity, buffering agent or water conditioner in mildly concentrated liquid formulations.
FMC is the only producer of two light density soda ash grades - Grade 100 and AbsorptaPlus. These products find extensive application in the detergent segment due to their high absorptivity characteristics. Grade choice depends on the detergent manufacturing process and the surfactant level desired. Grade 100 soda ash is a standard in industrial and institutional formulating due to its absorptive properties and ideal bulk density. AbsorptaPlus has increased absorptivity and advanced processing characteristics.

FMCs expertise in natural soda ash production enables our customers to span diverse enduses. Soda ash is used in manufacturing glass containers, flat glass, fiberglass, chemicals, detergents and pulp and paper. Other applications include air and water treatment, mining, and petroleum production.

Chemicals Soda ash provides the sodium source for the manufacture of many materials including sodium percarbonate, sodium phosphates, sodium sulfate, sodium sulfite, sodium acetate, sodium nitrite, sodium silicate and sodium citrate. It is also used in the production of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), which FMC manufactures as well. Soda ash can also be used as a functional substitute for caustic soda in applications such as pH adjustment, acid neutralization, sodium chemicals manufacture, and pulp and paper processing.

Products
FMC offers the widest variety of natural soda ash grades. Customers can choose products suited for their unique applications based on bulk density, purity, and absorptivity characteristics. Dense Soda Ash Grade 260 Standard dense soda ash Grade 160 Specialty dense soda ash with lower organic content

Packaging FMC soda ash is available in bulk railcars and bulk hopper trucks, as well as 50 lb bags and supersacks of various sizes. We also offer customers the convenience and flexibility of mixed product truckloads with other alkali products produced at our Green River, WY manufacturing facility. Certifications ISO 9002, Responsible Care, AWWA, Kosher, Reach.

FMC pioneered solution mining used in both our Westvaco and Granger facilities. As the leader in trona mining and processing, FMC continues to develop innovative mining techniques and proprietary process equipment to provide an even more reliable and economical alkali supply.

Light Soda Ash Grade 100 Light density soda ash with absorptive properties AbsorptaPlus FMCs most absorptive light density soda ash Grade 50 Light density soda ash with very fine particle size OptiPro Light density soda ash for industrial applications

Responsible Care

FMCs goal is to be our customers most valued supplier by providing the kind of customer service that steadily builds long-term relationships. FMCs customers can expect personal interaction with an experienced, professional team committed to understanding and meeting our customers needs before, during and after a sale.

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Tech Support & Engineering Services

No one knows more about natural soda ash than a company who has been manufacturing, handling, and storing it successfully for more than 60 years. FMC has a dedicated sales force to provide general information regarding the use of soda ash. In addition, our Technical Services Group includes experts in all soda ash applications. They evaluate product performance in new and specialized applications, research appropriate grades for various end uses, and provide technical troubleshooting service. Our Engineering Services Group will provide design and start-up support for a variety of soda ash storage and handling systems. Our philosophy is twofold. First, when you purchase FMC soda ash, we want it to go into your products as pure as the day it left our plant. Ideal handling and storage can assure this. Second, we believe this kind of support is necessary to form the long-term partnership we desire with our customers.

Customer Support
FMCs goal is to be your most valued soda ash supplier by providing the kind of customer service that steadily builds long-term relationships. Our highly trained, experienced customer service group is committed to meeting every customers needs and finding solutions to any challenge.
FMC owns one of the largest fleets dedicated to soda ash service. Offering a customized supply chain for each customer, FMCs supplychain expertise is one of the many value added services we provide to our customers.

Order Center Information technology allows us to process and track orders with great efficiency. Our on-line customer service center has been designed to extend these same capabilities to our customers on an around-the-clock basis. After receiving secure access to FMCs Order Center, you have the ability to: place, change, and confirm orders; view order status and history; obtain order-related documents such as an Order Confirmation, a Bill of Lading, a Certificate of Analysis, and an Invoice; request a sample; and track movement of railroad shipments. Vendor Managed Inventory For rail direct customers, FMC can even manage your inventory. We offer a Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) process whereby FMC actively monitors and manages customer inventory and supply chain through the use of a web-enabled system that integrates order information and real time railcar tracking. Our customers benefit through reduced order planning and tracking, reduced working capital, and reduced costs, while assuring high supply reliability.

Logistics/Transportation Once youve placed your order, FMCs goal is to make sure you receive it on time. FMCs North American distribution system consists of a flexible network of transloaders and approved distributors across the country. The majority of FMC soda ash moves directly from our plant to customers by rail. Our transportation department knows the shortest distance between two points and prides itself on the ability to find the least expensive and most reliable transportation mode and delivery route. Our experts can also provide a host of other services:
Freight rates and route analysis to help lower costs or improve service Access to on-line railcar location tracking to allow you to follow your rail shipments en route Consultation on truck delivery options and methods International transportation, cost and service analysis Ocean carrier selection for on-time, economical delivery overseas FMC maintains its own fleet of dedicated railcars to ensure product quality and reliable service. Our 5,100 cubic feet capacity cars are impressive with newly fitted gates to safely speed up unloading, resist leakage, and support the American Chemistry Councils Responsible Care initiatives.You will save both time and money with FMCs easy to unload railcars.

FMC is a founding member of American Natural Soda Ash Corporation (ANSAC) which handles FMCs exports and logistics to many parts of the globe. Unit trains are shipped from Green River to ports for ocean voyage in dedicated soda ash vessels to points around the world.

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Always Making The Grade

FMC Corporation is the worlds leading producer of natural soda ash offering a reliable supply of a diverse range of high quality product choices. FMCs soda ash operations in Green River, Wyoming, home of the worlds largest deposit of trona ore, utilize a truly exceptional, multi-discipline process, from mining, manufacturing and product development all the way through product delivery. Constant innovation is part of our guiding philosophy. FMC Corporation is one of the worlds foremost, diversified chemical companies with leading positions in agricultural, industrial and consumer markets. From our inception in 1883, FMC has been providing solutions to the worlds best companies and their customers. Today, we use an array of advanced technologies in research and development to improve the delivery of medications; enhance foods and beverages; power batteries; protect crop yields, structures and lawns; and advance the manufacture of glass, ceramics, plastics, pulp and paper, textiles and other products.

FMC Corporation 1735 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 www.fmcchemicals.com (215) 299.6000

FMC, AbsorptaPlus, Grade 100 and OptiPro are all trademarks of FMC Corporation. Copyright 2012 FMC Corporation.