New Fertilizer Plants Springing Up to Take Advantage of Cheap Natural Gas
The devastating explosion at a fertilizer-blending facility in West, Texas, on April 17 called attention to the risks of ammonia-based fertilizer production and storage. Between 1984 and 2006, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration reported 224 accidents, resulting in 50 fatalities, at ammonia plants around the U.S., and ammonia-based fertilizers and explosives were involved in a variety of intentional attacks, including the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Now, a different kind of boom in the fertilizer business—no explosives required—could also spell trouble.
No ammonia plants—which produce 90 percent of the fertilizer used worldwide—have broken ground in the U.S. in more than 20 years. But in the next three to five years, that’s changing. Today there are as many as 14 ammonia plants proposed in the U.S., with nearly 12 million tons of new capacity and $10 billion of expected investment. Several older plants are also being recommissioned and upgraded. Louisiana, Iowa, North Dakota, Texas and Indiana are among the proposed sites. This boom, driven by low prices for natural gas—the main ingredient in ammonia production—will drive a corresponding surge in the industry’s already substantial carbon footprint.
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In 2011 U.S. ammonia-producing facilities released 25 million tons of greenhouse gases (nearly all of it CO2)—just under 14 percent of the chemical-manufacturing sector’s total carbon footprint (and about 0.1 percent of total U.S. emissions). Globally, ammonia production represents as much as 3 to 5 percent of carbon emissions, according to some industry sources. And that doesn’t take into account the supply chain of natural gas production, energy-related emissions in the production process, fertilizer application (and misapplication) or industrial use of urea and other ammonia products.
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This growth will be accompanied by a directly proportional rise in greenhouse gas. With six million tons of new ammonia production, U.S.-based emissions would increase to a minimum of 37 million tons. If more of the proposed plants get built, the total could reach as high as 50 million tons. Globally, ammonia production already accounts for 3-5 percent of total carbon emissions, according to some sources. Again, that’s not accounting for emissions upstream or downstream in the supply chain.
http://news.yahoo.com/fertilizer-plants-spring-advantage-u-cheap-natural-gas-121500314.html
