New Haven, W.Va.-Appalachian Power officials say there were no serious injuries when a weak solution of ammonia and water escaped from a valve inadvertently left open during construction work at the AEP Mountaineer Power Plant in Mason County. Appalachian spokesman Phil Moye told Green Markets that contract workers were testing a pump at the plant in New Haven in preparation for the initial startup of the carbon capturing storage project equipment when the incident occurred the afternoon of Aug. 12. Some 12 of them were exposed to the release, which amounted to about 50 gallons of a solution of about 3 percent ammonia. According to Moye, most of them showered and changed clothes and showed no signs of injury, although three were taken to a local hospital, where they were checked over and released. Mason County 911 dispatchers said they were initially called to respond to the plant, but the officials later called them to cancel emergency responders because the incident was not as big as they first thought. Moye explained that ammonia will be used in the carbon capturing process once it becomes operational.
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Fertilizer companies make Fortune
New York City-Three public fertilizer-related companies were named to Fortune Magazine’s annual list of 100 Fastest Growing Companies, published in its Aug. 31, 2009 issue. CF Industries Holdings Inc. was number six, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. was number ten, and LSB Industries Inc., which owns both chemical/fertilizer, as well as climate control businesses, was 34th. Crop protection giant Monsanto was 41st.
Oregon indictment charges ind. waste dumping
Portland, Ore.-The battle lines are already forming for the trial of D.B. Western of North Bend, a big user of urea for producing formaldehyde and formaldehyde resin for industrial applications, and its president and owner, Dennis Carter Beetham, on state and federal charges of illegally dumping hundreds of tons of industrial waste. One state regulator described the hazardous waste case as “one of the most serious we’ve seen in Oregon.” In a U.S. district court arraignment earlier this month, Beetham pleaded not guilty to the charges that he and his company unlawfully mishandled several hazardous wastes, dumping hazardous polymerized liquid formaldehyde and nitric acid into a cinder cone on a ranch Beetham owned in Powell Butte, Ore., and storing hazardous polymerized liquid formaldehyde waste at the ranch. Beetham’s Portland attorney, Janet Hoffman, promised the case would be “hard fought” and “complex,” claiming that “there are multiple scientific issues in the case as well as substantial credibility issues.” She said the company has sued regulators, accusing them of changing the test method to reclassify some of the waste as hazardous. Leah Koss, interim manager of the Oregon DEQ’s office of compliance and enforcement, told Green Markets that the later test was an improvement for determining hazardous elements and was used on only about 5 percent of the waste. “So it’s really not even relevant,” she insisted. “There is no argument to be made that they wouldn’t have had hazardous waste out there if there had been a different test method used.”
Pennsylvania fire damage assessed at $1 M
Jackson Township, Penn.-A fire that was reported around 11 p.m. the night of Aug. 12 and burned through the night destroyed a 44,000 square foot structure owned by Plant Growers Workshop, a horticulture supply company, according to the local press. The complex contained fertilizer, propane, and electrical equipment.
Cargill reports second best year
Minneapolis-Cargill Inc., the majority shareholder in The Mosaic Co., reported the second best year in company history, despite the economic downturn. “The year was a tale of two halves,” said Greg Page, Cargill chairman and chief executive officer. “Cargill posted record results through November. In the second half, earnings slowed considerably as the world economy contracted for the first time in six decades. In the end, the net effect was the second-best year in our company’s history.” Cargill reported net earnings of $327 million in the fiscal 2009 fourth quarter ended May 31, down 69 percent from $1.05 billion in the same period a year ago. For the full fiscal year, Cargill earned $3.33 billion, a 16 percent decrease from a record $3.95 billion in the prior year. Revenues for the full year decreased 3 percent, to $116.6 billion. Cash flow from operations declined 6 percent, to $6.7 billion. Earnings in the industrial segment, which includes Cargill’s majority investment in Mosaic, were down significantly from the fourth quarter a year ago. The segment, however, pulled ahead of last year due to a strong first half.
Sinofert potash YTD potash sales off 71.4 percent
Hong Kong-Sinofert Holdings Ltd., the largest fertilizer distributor in China, reported a 71.4 percent drop in potash sales volumes during the first half ending June 30. The company said potash volumes were down to 600,000 mt because market demand remained subdued due to high prices. Sinofert said lower production of compound fertilizers substantially slashed demand for potash and led to higher potash inventories, severely impacting potash sales performance. Overall sales volumes were put at 6.35 million mt, a decrease of 34.7 percent from last year. Sinofert sold 2.63 million mt of nitrogen, 1.68 million mt of phosphate, and 1.01 million mt of compound fertilizer. Sinofert reported its first operating loss, mainly due to the reduced sales volumes. Net loss attributable to shareholders was RMB828 million (US$121.1 million). Excluding a write-down of inventories and the change in fair value of a derivative component of convertible loans, Sinofert reported net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB118 million ($17.3 million), representing a 90.7 percent decrease from the prior year. Turnover was RMB 12,508 million ($1.83 billion), down 44 percent from the year-ago period.
Sasol seeks options for phos acid plant
Johannesburg-Sasol said Aug. 18 that it has initiated consultations with various stakeholders ahead of a possible closure of Sasol Nitro’s phosphoric acid operations in Phalaborwa, South Africa. The plant, which manufactures phosphoric acid, has had varying financial success during its history in the Sasol portfolio. Sasol said current feedstock prices are at a level that has rendered the plant’s ongoing operation unsustainable, particularly in a declining phosphoric acid market. On the back of this continued decline of global and local phosphoric acid prices, as well as increased feedstock prices, Sasol Nitro is projecting significant losses for 2009 from its Phalaborwa operations. The possible plant closure will affect 245 Sasol Nitro employees at the plant, and another 250 service provider employees. Sasol has initiated talks with unions, local businesses, and local government to explore options to mitigate the impact of a potential closure. As a priority, Sasol will try to redeploy employees to other Sasol operations where possible. Sasol intends to explore the potential interest of other parties in the Phalaborwa business or assets. Should suitable buyers not be found, the plant may be dismantled and the site rehabilitated. The plant is designed to produce 325,000 tons of phosphoric acid annually, of which 100,000 tons have already been mothballed due to reduced demand. Most of this product is used for the fertilizer industry. South African animal feed producers use de-fluorinated phosphoric acid produced at the plant for the production of animal feed products. It is anticipated that consultations and negotiations with stakeholders will continue through October. If no alternative usage for the plant can be found, operations will terminate at the end of October 2009.
Florikan partners with Sun Gro
Sarasota-Florikan ESA has announced that it will form a strategic joint venture with Sun Gro Horticulture to distribute its controlled release and water soluble fertilizers to the professional horticulture industry in North America. The venture will operate under the name Florikan Specialty Plant Nutrition and will be operated and managed in Sarasota, Fla. Florikan and Sun Gro are combining their sales forces to represent Florikote and Nutricote fertilizers. Florikan will retain its controlled release fertilizer manufacturing and distribution operations independent of Sun Gro. As part of its refocused effort, Florikan will cease carrying plastics products manufactured by ITML, Amerikan, Ginegar, and others. “Florikan has sought to restructure and streamline its product offering since the introduction of its Florikote technology in 2007,” says Ed Rosenthal, who founded Florikan in 1981. Florikan also announced that its fertilizer blends will now be available through the following distributors in the Southeast and FL: Gro-South, Graco, BWI, Growers Service Supply, Cassco, B&T, Atlas Peat, Florida Potting Soils, Regal Chemical, and Wholesale Landscape Supply. In addition, Florikan will now offer TechniGro water soluble fertilizers. It is available with any chelated minor nutrient and can be custom blended with a 20 ton order. Sun Gro, founded in 1929, in Vancouver, B.C., has grown to become North America’s largest producer of sphagnum peat and the largest distributor of peat moss and peat and bark-based growing media to professional plant growers in the U.S. and Canada. Sun Gro sells its professional products primarily to greenhouse, nursery and specialty crop growers, as well as to golf course developers and landscapers. Sun Gro’s current fertilizer product offering includes Multicote®, Nutricote® in the Western United States, Technigro®, and SunTrace®. Sun Gro also sells peat moss and peat-based growing mixes to retail customers.
TruGreen continues to grow
Memphis, Tenn.-TruGreen, the nation’s largest lawn and landscape company, has acquired Nutri-Turf and Easy Chair Lawn Care, expanding its footprint in Ohio and Michigan and adding more than 10,000 customers to the TruGreen roster. There are 268 TruGreen LawnCare branches in the U.S. and Canada, including 52 franchise locations. TruGreen is owned by ServiceMaster.
Stingray awards contract for acid plant engineering
Toronto-Stingray Copper Inc. has awarded a contract to Aker Chemetics, a division of Aker Solutions Canada Inc., for the full basic engineering of a co-generating plant producing both sulfuric acid and electricity. The plant will produce superheated high pressure steam to be used in a turbo-generator, resulting in approximately ten megawatts of electrical power. In addition, this plant will be capable of producing 750 mt/d of sulfuric acid. The size of the plant is being increased to supply 100 percent of sulfuric acid requirements for the El Pilar operation, which is located in north central Sonora, some 15 kilometers south of the border with the U.S. The primary input for the plant is liquid molten sulfur that is readily available from several sources, but particularly in the Texas Gulf Coast as a by-product of sour gas production wells. Stingray’s market investigations have indicated steady, reliable sources of sulfur can be railed directly to the site. Aker is expected to complete their work prior to the year end. Stingray says the new plant will adhere to the highest industry standards by meeting or exceeding EPA and OSHA Standards.