Washington, D.C.-The Fertilizer Industry Methamphetamine Task Force has made available online the formula for treating anhydrous ammonia. The information on how much and the method to be used can be accessed on the TFI website (www.tfi.org), along with answers to more than a dozen questions raised since Iowa approved the use of the anti-meth additive several weeks ago. Nine gallons or 110 pounds of liquid calcium nitrate (CN9) are required to treat 2,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia. The CN9 must be inserted through the liquid withdraw valve only to prevent heating and rise in pressure. If this is not done, pressure can cause the pop-off valve to release. According to the Iowa Department of Agriculture, it takes 10 to 15 minutes with a gear pump to insert the required amount of CN9 into a 1,000 gallon nurse tank; a piston pump may take considerably longer. Only nurse tanks can be used since storage, transport, or rail vessels have not been structurally tested, and there are no plans at this point to do so. Nurse tanks can be filled to 85 percent capacity with NH3; adding the CN9 will increase tank capacity by only .l8 percent. Many states, including Illinois, allow the tanks to be filled to only 85 percent capacity. The task force points out that introducing the CN9 with a total nitrogen content of 9 percent will reduce the analysis of NH3 from 82-0-0 to 78-0-0. For more information, contact John Whipple at the Iowa Dept. of Agriculture and Land Stewardship at 515-281-8610, or John.Whipple@idals.state.ia.us.
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