Carthage, Mo.-Tens of thousands of gallons of liquid fertilizer are being produced as a co-product every week at the Renewable Environmental Solutions plant here that uses thermal conversion to turn waste from a nearby turkey processing plant into oil for diesel fuel. Jim Freiss, fertilizer manager for Changing World Technologies Inc., which owns the Carthage plant, told Green Markets that marketing for the 7-0-1 product is being focused for starters in poultry producing areas where “we’ve been having no problems with acceptance by the farmers.” Freiss said the liquid concentrate is registered in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma, where it complements the high phosphorus available in the poultry litter. “Farmers can get the nitrogen without having to put on more phosphorus,” he noted. “We’ve been offering discounts to farmers and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be hard to sell.” At the same time, Freiss said plans are being made for bringing to market a companion fertilizer produced in paste form from the bones remaining from processing the turkey offal. “We’re ramping up the same kind of program for the next growing season for the paste and have already demonstrated that it works well,” Freiss reported. He said the Carthage plant is presently producing 35,000 to 40,000 gallons of the liquid fert and expects production of the 0-14-0 paste will range between 100 and 150 tons per week. According to Changing World Technologies spokeswoman Julie Gelfand, the plant can convert approximately 250 tons per day of turkey offal and fats into approximately 20,000 gallons of a renewable diesel fuel oil, which is sold to local industrial customers as a hedge against rising energy prices and as a way to reduce their fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Operating the plant, however, hasn’t been without problems. Due to pending litigation, Gelfand declined to discuss complaints that have been lodged by Carthage residents because of the odors. She did say that she hoped these residents would keep an open mind about the environmentally friendly technology and the plant’s potential to the community. Later this year, Gelfand reported, the History Channel will report about how the plant produces the diesel oil and specialty fertilizers on its Modern Marvels segment. “Obviously there’s been of controversy about this company in Carthage over the years,” Gelfand commented. “But for what it’s worth, the scientific community really is celebrating what this company is doing. It’s been a major feature on the Discovery Channel several times, and Modern Marvels is a highly respected and highly rated forum in which to communicate the potential of waste-to-oil technology.”
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain