Manhattan, Kan. — The local business community is applauding the announcement by India’s Prathista Industries Ltd. to establish a research and production facility here to bring its unique eco-friendly fermentation technology for agriculture nutrients and feed additives for the first time in North America. The company plans to create up to ten well-paying jobs while partnering with Kansas State on research. After a few years of initial R&D work, Prathista plans to construct a 52,000 square foot permanent manufacturing facility that would create approximately 50 new jobs.
Houston — KBR said Dec. 28 that it has been awarded a contract by Tecnimont S.p.A. for the License and Basic Engineering Design (BED) of a new ammonia plant to be built by Chemical Industries Holding Co. (Kima) in Aswan, Egypt. Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide Kima with a license for its proprietary Purifier™ Ammonia Technology and related engineering services for Kima’s new plant. The plant is being built on a fast-track basis and will support regional development plans in Aswan, as well as Egypt’s drive to build modern fertilizer complexes. On Dec. 22, KBR announced that it had been awarded a contract by First Global Company to revamp the North Fertilizer Plant in Baiji, Iraq. Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide a license for its proprietary Ammonia Process and related engineering services to increase the plant capacity to 120 percent of the original design. The original plant, which started up in 1989, was designed to produce 1,000 mt/d ammonia.
Aqaba — Jordanian press reports say that huge new phosphate reserves have been discovered in the northeastern part of the country. The initial estimate put the reserves at around 200 million tons. The study was conducted by the Jordanian Association of Geologists. The head of the association, Bahgat al-Adwan, was quoted as saying that the phosphate was located in an area of 250 square kilometers and was near the surface, and that therefore recovery costs would be relatively low. Jordan is currently the sixth largest exporter of phosphate rock and exports around 5 million mt annually, primarily to the Far East.
Gilmore City, Iowa — Calcium Products Inc. (CPI), based in Gilmore City, Iowa, announced on Dec. 29 that it has formed a strategic alliance with ENR Distributors of Alberta, Canada, for the marketing and delivery of CPI’s SuperCal 98G, SuperCal SO4, and HumaCal agricultural soil amendments. “Western Canada has been a market we’ve been interested in securing”, said Craig Dick, vice president of sales and marketing for employee-owned CPI. “We’ve made several trips and done some amazing on-farm tests that proved our value to Western Canada producers. It’s an exciting new opportunity for our growing company.” SuperCal 98G, a high-quality agricultural liming agent, is manufactured by CPI in Iowa, along with the company’s gypsum/sulfur product SuperCal SO4, and HumaCal, which adds organic material to soils. “We have many growers who will be using products from Calcium Products for this year’s crop,” said Doug McRae, CEO of ENR, a subsidiary of McRae Holdings. “We are looking forward to a long lasting relationship with CPI as we work together to improve the soil and crop production for the farmers in this area.”
Los Angeles — Rentech Inc. on Dec. 19 issued a statement that corrected an earlier release regarding its nitrogen outlook. The initial report said Rentech Nitrogen has delivered and/or entered into prepayment contracts for 77,500 st of ammonia and 120,250 st of UAN, which accounts for 59 and 47 percent, respectively, of forecasted deliveries during fiscal 2012 (GM Dec. 19, 2011). Rentech issued a press release Dec. 19 saying this should have been 59 and 46 percent of forecasted revenues.
Ottawa — Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent has announced the addition of 41 unique substances, including ammonium nitrate fertilizer, to the Environmental Emergency Regulations as a continuation of “the government’s commitment to protect Canadians and safeguard our environment.” He added, “These amendments to the regulations will further protect Canadians where it matters most at work, in their homes and in their communities.“ Industry response was not available from Canadian Fertilizer Institute (CFI) or the Canadian Assn. of Agri Retailers (CAAR) because of the extended holidays. The criteria considered in selecting ammonium nitrate and the other substances for listing include severity of acute adverse effects on human health and on the environment or its biodiversity. Facilities that handle these 41 listed substances at or above regulated quantities are required to develop environmental emergency (E2) plans if they are not already in place. E2 plans require that individuals and industrial facilities using or storing regulated hazardous substances listed in the regulations have plans for and can manage the consequences of an unintended release of the substance into the environment. The E2 plans are required when the substance is stored or used at a fixed facility at or above the specified threshold quantities. In the case of ammonium nitrate the level for an E2 plan is 20 tons, but the new rule includes an exemption for bagged ammonium nitrate sold in its usual 20-kg container. Federal regulations already require sellers of ammonium nitrate to register with the explosives regulatory division of Natural Resources Canada, ask for proper ID from customers, provide annual inventory reports, and report any suspicious activity to "appropriate authorities."
Denver — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited McKeefe Ventures, doing business as Colorado Blue Ribbon Foods LLC in Rocky Ford, for 28 alleged safety and health violations, including those involving anhydrous ammonia, which are considered serious. According to OSHA, fines totaling $116,160 are being proposed after a follow-up inspection was conducted in June to verify that corrective actions had taken place from a previous inspection. The serious violations include improper preventive maintenance of the anhydrous ammonia system, no lockout procedures for de-energizing equipment prior to performing maintenance activities, inadequate personal protective equipment, inadequate housekeeping, and various electrical hazards. "McKeefe Ventures was inspected and cited in the past for violations of OSHA standards under the names of Pueblo Foods LLC and Colorado Blue Ribbon Foods LLC, so the company is well aware of this agency’s requirements for the industry," said David Nelson, director of OSHA’s Englewood Area Office. "The violations that relate to improper management of the anhydrous ammonia system demonstrate a lax attitude toward a potentially catastrophic atmospheric release."
Columbus, Ohio — Ohio EPA and the Dayton Power and Light Co. (DP&L) have agreed on $20,468 civil penalty for a series of violations involving anhydrous ammonia used at the utility’s Adams County facility selective catalytic reduction system to reduce nitrous oxide emissions. DP&L was cited mainly for risk management plans (RMP), which detail what DP&L should do if an accidental release of the toxic chemical should occur. The J.M. Stuart facility stores 1.2 million pounds of anhydrous ammonia in four storage tanks containing 300,000 pounds each. During an RMP compliance inspection last February, Ohio EPA discovered eight violations of the RMP regulations. The company was issued a notice of violation in March 2011, and DP&L corrected one of the violations by determining and documenting an appropriate response to the findings of a 2007 internal compliance audit. The remaining violations include failure to: provide required operator training every three years; fully implement employee participation and contractor programs; create and implement a mechanical integrity program; complete recommendations derived from the process hazard analysis; annually certify operating procedures; and implement a pre-startup review. Two of these violations were the same ones noted during a 2004 RMP compliance inspection. At that time, no penalty was assessed and DP&L corrected the two violations. The company has agreed to respond to emergency release plan violations within 60 days and pay a civil penalty of $4,094 to the Ohio EPA’s clean diesel school bus program fund, with the remaining $16,374 to be deposited into the state’s risk management plan fund.
Annapolis, Md. — Ecocorp Inc., Arlington, Va., has an agreement with the state of Maryland to build a anaerobic digester plant using chicken manure and agriculture waste on a 4.2-acre site at the Eastern Correctional Institute near Princess Anne for $100 a year, and to provide the prison with electricity while producing both solid and liquid fertilizer. According to Dr. John Ingersoll, Ecocorp president, that’s just the beginning. “We should be breaking ground at the earliest next spring and be in full operation by the summer or early fall,” Ingersoll reported. “At the same time, we’re working on a number of projects, including one in Virginia that will be slightly different. At the Maryland facility we expect to be producing 3,400 tons of solid and 7,800 tons of liquid fertilizer.” He said plans are to sell the liquid to local farmers and provide the solid for use on vegetables, fruit trees, or other special crops such as soybeans, or perhaps bag it and sell the product through private outlets. Ingersoll said the state has been trying to promote the technology as an answer to the chicken manure problem. The plant will generate 8.06 million kilowatts from the methane produced by the digester – part will be used to operate the system, with the rest for the prison. "This will really be a grand pilot demonstration project," said James Harkins, director of the Maryland Environmental Service, which put the deal together with the help of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and other state agencies. "It will be one of the first in the nation that’s run with chicken litter." Disposal of manure from the Eastern Shore’s poultry industry has long been a serious environmental problem because many farmers have no easy way of getting rid of it.
Baton Rouge — It may be a while yet, but a researcher at Louisiana State University expects to be able to turn corn gluten – which is a byproduct of the cornmeal milling process – into biofuels and organic fertilizers. “My feeling is that we have to determine what level of application provides the most optimum results,” explained Kun-Jun Han, LSU agronomist and assistant professor. “When we compare corn gluten with chicken litter, the nutritive value of the gluten varies. However, the phosphorous level is half of the chicken litter and the potassium level is one third.” Han’s two-year research project is expected to provide a viable alternative to traditional fertilizers. Han said that he plans to have results from his research sometime next year, telling Green Markets that he and his team have already completed the first year of research. “It’s still too early to tell how it compares to poultry litter, but we know it can be an alternative organic fertilizer,” said Han. When asked about using corn gluten as fertilizer, he added, “It has some possibilities, but we must continue our testing for two years before we will have clear conclusions.” Actually, corn gluten meal is a well-established weed and feed for lawns and gardens. It was accidentally discovered by Iowa State University researcher Nick Christians. The natural herbicide that resulted from his research is now patented, and is licensed for use in turf and home gardens as an alternative to weed and feed products.
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