Puttman Chemical Company

In 1981, PLW Inc was looking to expand its current businesses into the chemical processing and researching area.  Their primary focus was to refine the process of creating Ethylene, a gasoline substitute created from processed lumber.  FCF incorporated was very interested in this process, and helped finance part of the project by granting a substantial tract of land in the Heart’s Content area.  In addition, the Tionesta Valley Chemical plant in Mayburg was to be upgraded to create solely ethylene. 

Over the course of several years, the researchers discovered a way to refine the ethylene to make it a usable substitute to gasoline, but unfortunately the process required a large amount of chemical wood, or wood not eligible for lumber use, to make the Mayburg plant viable.  While the FCF corporation had a large amount of timber land available, this would not allow the plant to stay in production for very long.  Again PLW researchers went to work to create a fertilizer that would enable rapid reforesting.

Drawing expertise from a number of fertilizer manufactures, the PLW staff started gathering the required chemicals needed.  Waste refinement sludge (now referred to as WRS) was gathered from the many facilities that dotted the major cities along the Allegheny River.

More to follow..