Linde Partner Fined for Excess Emissions

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A partner of Linde LLC, a major participant in the Midway chemical complex in Greene County, has been cited and fined by state environmental officials due to emissions more than double the permit limit at a plant in Bradley County.
The January citation is only the latest in a series of issues at the Wacker Polysilicon plant which produces tiles used in generating solar energy. Linde supplies the ultra high purity hydrogen and steam needed to produce the polysilicon and bills itself as "an essential partner" in the operations.
The January citation by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation cites limits set in a permit issued in 2019. While the permit limits carbon monoxide emissions to .69 pounds per hour, tests conducted on May 12-14, 2020 showed carbon monoxide emissions averaging 1.49 pounds per hour.
The TDEC notice of the violation lists Linde and Wacker.
In a 2020 citation, regulators imposed a $1,500 fine, attributing an explosion at the plant to "an unavoidable failure of process equipment," when a piston fractured releasing hydrogen gas.
The accident killed one worker and seriously injured three others.
Three years earlier another Wacker accident injured 13 workers. Fines totaling $21,600 were imposed for the accident and related violations.
Linde officials did not respond to a series of questions about their role at the Wacker facility.
Linde became part of the US Nitrogen complex when it merged with Praxair, which produces liquified carbon dioxide at the Midway facility. The company also supplies several other industrial gases from other facilities across the country.
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