PCI Pasadena Nitrogen Plant, Texas

PCI Nitrogen operates a plant in Pasadena, Texas, the heart of the densest petrochemical production center in the country. Though focused on nitrogen now, this was a former phosphate facility, built in WWII, and operated by the explosives company Olin for many years, followed by Mobil, Agrifos, Rentech, and now PCI. Nitrogen and phosphate production (the N and P of NPK, the three basic elements of industrial agriculture) are chemically closely related, and sometimes share facilities. Phosphate production generally leaves large gypsum byproduct mounds known as gypstacks, such as here, where a few of them are visible as geometric mounds east and south of the PCI plant.