Expansion under way; additional product being considered at Synfuels Plant

Two new projects at the Great Plains Synfuels Plant near Beulah, ND.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative - December 7, 2011
Daryl Hill

Officials at the Great Plains Synfuels Plant near Beulah, ND, have announced they're working on two projects: a detailed design and procurement for a new 30,000-ton ammonia storage facility and a pre-front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for producing urea – a granular fertilizer used in the agricultural industry.

According to Steve Liebelt, marketing manager for Dakota Gasification Company, the expanded storage tank will increase the availability of anhydrous ammonia in the area and is expected to be completed by the spring of 2013.

"The pre-FEED study will focus on building a urea production facility adjacent to the Synfuels Plant. The main production inputs for urea are natural gas and carbon dioxide," Liebelt said. "We think that with the growing market for urea as a fertilizer and other uses, there’s a tremendous potential for producing an additional product at the plant."

Liebelt said urea has a high nitrogen content, and along with reduce handling, storage and transportation costs over other nitrogen forms, makes a desirable fertilizer for the agricultural industry. "When properly applied, urea will result in crop yield increases similar to anhydrous ammonia, which also has a high nitrogen content," he said.

The pre-FEED study is expected to be published early next year. "If the results are encouraging, the next step would be to conduct a full FEED study after that," Liebelt said. "We have a couple options, including building the production facility adjacent to the Synfuels Plant, or moving to another location, and whether we want to search for partners." The cost of such a project will be determined by the FEED study.

The Synfuels Plant's primary product is synthetic natural gas derived from lignite coal; an average of 153 million cubic feet is produced daily. There are eight co-products now being marketed from the Synfuels Plant. They include (and quantities produced):

• Anhydrous ammonia – up to 1,100 tons per day
• Carbon dioxide – about 150 million cubic feet per day
• Cresylic acid – 33 million pounds annually
• Daksul 45 – (ammonium sulfate) a granular fertilizer – 250 tons per day
• Krypton/xenon gases – 3.5 million liters annually
• Liquid nitrogen – tonnages vary
• Naphtha – 23,000 gallons per day
• Phenol – 33 million pounds annually