All Posts from April 27, 2015

CSB releases AA safety video

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) recently released a safety video detailing lessons learned from the release of 32,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia that occurred at Millard Refrigerated Services Inc. on August 23, 2010 (GM Aug. 30, 2010). The accident resulted in over 150 exposures to offsite workers, thirty of whom were hospitalized, with four winding up in an intensive care unit.

The video, entitled “Shock to the System,” is based on the CSB’s recent safety bulletin entitled Key Lessons for Preventing Hydraulic Shock in Industrial Refrigeration Systems, and includes a detailed 3D animation of the events that led up to the resulting ammonia release. It is available for viewing at www.csb.gov and on YouTube.

The CSB’s investigation found that the day prior to the accident the Millard facility experienced a loss of power, during which time the refrigeration system was shut down. The next day the system regained power and was up and running. An operator cleared alarms in the control system, which reset the refrigeration cycle on a group of freezer evaporators that were in the process of defrosting.

The result was that both hot, high-pressure gas and extremely low temperature liquid ammonia were present in the coils and associated piping at the same time, causing the hot high-pressure ammonia gas to rapidly condense into a liquid. Because liquid ammonia takes up less volume than ammonia gas, a vacuum was created where the gas had condensed. The sudden pressure drop sent a wave of liquid ammonia through the piping, causing a sudden pressure surge known as “hydraulic shock.”

Hydraulic shock results in a sharp pressure rise, with the potential to cause catastrophic failure of piping, valves, and other components. In the Millard case a roof-mounted 12-inch suction pipe failed, releasing more than 32,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia. The ammonia cloud traveled a quarter mile from the facility south toward an area where 800 contractors were working outdoors at a clean-up site for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The video presents a number of key lessons learned from the CSB’s investigation, including avoiding the manual interruption of evaporators in defrost; requiring control systems to be equipped with password protection to ensure that only trained and authorized personnel have the authority to manually override systems; designing ammonia refrigeration systems so that each evaporator coil is controlled by a separate set of valves; and initiating an emergency shutdown in the event of an ammonia release if a leak cannot be promptly isolated and controlled.

Ammonia leaks caused problems at two other facilities recently. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating an ammonia leak at the Reser’s Fine Foods plant in Topeka, Kan., where some 100 employees reportedly had to be evacuated due to a leak from a refrigeration unit.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is investigating an anhydrous ammonia release reportedly caused when a forklift was driven into a supply line at the Pepsi bottling plant in Mesquite, Tex. One worker was taken to the hospital with respiratory problems and skin burns, and the entire Pepsi plant was evacuated while emergency responders spent an hour sealing the leak.

Lystek offers fertilizer option for wastewater plants

Lystek International Inc., an organic materials recovery firm, recently presented the city of Southgate, Ont., with a $20,000 revenue-share check based on 2014 market sales of the biosolids-based LysteGro fertilizer product. Founded in 2000 at the University of Waterloo, Lystek helps municipalities and other generators reduce waste, costs, odors, and greenhouse gas emissions through its approach to biosolids and organics management.

The largest single operating cost for most wastewater treatment plants is related to biosolids and organics management. Lystek’s system transforms non-hazardous organic materials into nutrient rich, federally registered fertilizer products. Their system can also be used at wastewater treatment plants to optimize the performance of digesters and BNR systems while reducing overall volumes and increasing biogas production for green energy.

Lystek’s proprietary process combines heat, alkali, and high-shear mixing to break down the biological material in the biosolids. The resulting liquefied material, LysteGro, can be used in agriculture, sod farming, and horticulture. The recycling of Lystek-processed biosolids to anaerobic digesters enhances biogas/methane production by 25 percent or more and reduces biosolids generation requiring offsite disposal by 30 percent or more. In addition, Lystek’s process results in a pathogen free, federally registered Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and recognized Class A EQ (U.S.) biofertilizer product.

LysteGro contains high concentrations of N-P-K (4.5-7-2.5), as well as a variety of micronutrients such as sulfur, calcium, iron, and magnesium. Like manure, LysteGro is high in organic matter and nutrients that are released slowly over time, which also helps improve water retention, soil tilth, and pore space. Lystek fertilizer production depends on the size of the wastewater facility, with the smallest annual fertilizer capacity to date at 3,500 mt/y.

So far over 94,000 cubic meters of LysteGro have been sold and applied to approximately 8,000 acres of farmland. Lystek provides a turn-key solution, with all fertilizer sales & marketing included for the first five years. The company estimated that it has produced 25 million U.S. gallons of fertilizer to date, and will have produced 35 million gallons by the end of 2015.

Lystek’s own Organic Materials Recovery Centre (OMRC) serves a number of municipalities and is capable of diverting up to150,000 mt/y from landfill for conversion. Full-scale Lystek systems can be found in a number of locations, including the regional Southgate OMRC, Third High Farms Ltd., the cities of Guelph and North Battleford, the Town of St. Mary’s, and the Township of Centre-Wellington. The company is also expanding into the food waste sector.

Lystek’s first U.S. facility is also currently under development in California. Kevin Litwiller, director of business development for Lystek, told Green Markets that “An agreement … is under final legal review by all parties and is expected to be announced during or before the first week of May.”

Lystek provides design, build, and transfer, as well as design, build, own, and operate solutions. Revenue is primarily generated from sales of the technology, tipping fees, and fertilizer product sales. Lystek will also explore engagements that involve avoided cost modelling, conversion and sale of biogas into green energy, and revenue-sharing models based on product sales.

In the city of Guelph, Ontario, Lystek’s system has been contributing to landfill diversion since 2006. “The addition of the state-of the-art, Lystek solution to our Wastewater Treatment Plant operations is playing a vital role in contributing to our goal of being a progressive, industry leader in biosolids management,” said Janet Laird, former executive director,

Yara Q1 hit by Lifeco writedown, foreign exchange losses; sales boosted by acquisitions

Yara International ASA reported first-quarter 2015 net income after non-controlling interests of NOK 729 million ($92.3 million) on sales of NOK 27,767 million. Net income was down 59 percent from the year ago NOK 1,773 million despite higher year-on-year sales, up from NOK 21,709 million.

Yara said net income was negatively impacted by a NOK 929 million writedown (US$112 million) on Lifeco, which left a remaining book value of $18 million on the joint venture. In addition, Yara had an NOK 1.831 billion foreign exchange loss. However, the company’s margins benefitted from continued lower gas costs and a stronger U.S. dollar in the first quarter.

Global fertilizer deliveries were up 3 percent from a year earlier at 6.566 million mt, due to the acquisitions of OFD Holding Inc. in Latin America and a 60 percent stake in Galvani in Brazil. Excluding their contribution, Yara said deliveries were "slightly" lower than last year.

Yara’s fertilizer deliveries in Europe – at 3.008 million mt – were 3 percent lower in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, due mainly to a more normal spring this year following 2014’s early spring. Fertilizer deliveries outside of Europe were up 8 percent at 3.558 million mt, driven by higher sales to Latin America and trade to Africa. But excluding OFD and Galvani, Yara said fertilizer deliveries outside of Europe were flat on the year-earlier quarter.

As for the Lifeco writedown, Yara cited the worsening security outlook in Libya. The company sees a high likelihood in 2015 of a further deterioration of the operating ability of the Lifeco jv plants. Yara said the jv’s feedstock and financial situation was already challenging. Yara noted that the political and security situation in Libya has worsened rapidly, and may deteriorate further over the next year. In light of this, Yara is evaluating the operation of the plants on an ongoing basis in cooperation with the other partners in order to protect the employees as well as the assets. The company said it will continue participating in the governance of Lifeco, with the aim of resuming full production once real improvements are seen in the security and political situation in Libya, creating a sustainable improved operating outlook for Lifeco.

In the meantime, Lifeco continues to operate, though with reduced capacity due to gas supply constraints. Yara completed the jv with Libyan partners in 2009 (GM Feb. 16, 2009). Capacity is put at 900,000 mt/y for urea and 150,000 mt/y of merchant ammonia. It had only a few years of normal operations until unrest began in 2011, leading to the fall of Prime Minister Muammar Gaddafi and more instability thereafter.