Environment, Health & Safety -
Fertilizers

The Enid, Okla., plant supplies fertilizer to customers throughout the Midwest.

Koch Fertilizer, LLC and its affiliates are committed to operating in a manner that protects the health and safety of employees, the public and the environment. Affiliates include Koch Nitrogen Company, LLC and Koch Fertilizer Canada, ULC. The companies are among the best in the industry when it comes to safety performance, and continually strive to improve environmental performance by reducing waste and increasing process efficiency. Examples of excellence in environmental and safety performance include:

Emission Reduction and Community Involvement/ Koch Nitrogen, Beatrice, Neb.

In 2008, the Beatrice plant went above and beyond the minimum requirements of state air permits by installing an ammonia analyzer. Data from the analyzer allows the plant to better control NOx formation and, ultimately, to reduce emissions. In addition to its environmental stewardship efforts, plant personnel are active with the local emergency planning organization to help keep the community safe.

Release Prevention and Community Involvement/ Koch Nitrogen, Dodge City, Kan.

The Dodge City team’s knowledge and efforts to improve process reliability have resulted in a significant decrease in reportable releases. The team’s consistent focus has resulted in the plant experiencing only one reportable release during the last 18 months, a significant accomplishment for any chemical manufacturing facility.

The team eagerly shares its environmental expertise with the community. As part of 2009 Earth Day activities, team members presented a Recycling and Pollution Prevention program to 13 classes of fifth and sixth graders at a local middle school.

In 2009, the Fort Dodge, Iowa, operations and maintenance team earned a Koch Industries EH&S Excellence award.

Flaring Prevention and Water Source Protection/ Koch Nitrogen, Fort Dodge, Iowa

The actions taken by the operations and maintenance team at the Fort Dodge facility exemplify Koch Fertilizer’s commitment to EH&S excellence and the elimination of waste.

In 2007, the operations and maintenance team set out to voluntarily reduce emissions, including those allowed by the state’s air permit. Improvements to the plant’s refrigeration system and temperature monitoring resulted in a 35 percent reduction in flared ammonia from 2006 levels, meaning more than 700 tons were kept from entering the environment.

Next, the team focused on increased tank monitoring and improved maintenance, resulting in reduced emissions from the ammonia storage tanks. In 2008, the plant reduced flaring by 86 percent from the previous year. Over the two-year period, more than 1,300 tons of product were maintained in process instead of released to the atmosphere.

The plant installed two new water supply wells in 2009; one provides process water, while the other provides potable water for the plant. The new wells not only increased the reliability of the process water supply, but also enabled the plant to decrease the chance of cross-contamination between its process and potable water supplies.

Water Conservation and Process Automation/ Koch Nitrogen, Enid, Okla.

Through careful management of its water treatment and storage processes, 60% of the water used by the plant comes from the City of Enid's secondary wastewater treatment system. The plant is currently evaluating other water reuse opportunities.

With the Koch Fertilizer Engineering Group, the plant is evaluating process automation opportunities to increase plant efficiencies and potentially decrease its demand for fossil fuels.

Chemical Management, Emergency Preparedness and Community Involvement/ Koch Fertilizer Canada, Brandon, Manitoba

The expertise of the Brandon plant regarding safe chemical handling and emergency preparedness is well recognized by Canadian environmental regulatory and response agencies. Plant personnel are frequently asked to assist in off-site response activities not directly associated with the plant’s business activities. The willingness of plant personnel to share their chemical handling knowledge, combined with their understanding of environmental mitigation approaches, provides a valuable resource to surrounding communities.

Flare Reliability/ Koch Nitrogen Terminals

Beginning in 2005, the Koch Nitrogen terminal team kicked-off a project to improve the reliability of flaring of refrigerated storage tanks during power or refrigeration loss. The team evaluated different options and selected a "standby" pilot system that could improve reliability and fuel efficiency compared to the existing flares that were operated 24/7. By the end of 2008, all the terminals were converted to a standby pilot that only goes to full flare when tank pressure reaches a predetermined set point. This conversion improved emission control reliability and has reduced gas consumption and flare emissions of criteria pollutants (NOx, SOx, CO, PM, VOC) by 80-90 percent.