UPDATED: 10/03/2017 — see Change Log

OWNER: Midwest Ammonia Inc (Midwest BioEnergy Ltd)
PROJECT: Brownfield ammonia plant[memberful does_not_have_subscription=”1314-ammonia-industry-annual-subscription,1311-ammonia-industry-monthly-subscription,3338-ammonia-industry-30-day-subscription”]

COST (reported): $16.4 million
JOB CREATION (reported): [none given]
START-UP DATE (reported): [none given]

CAPACITY	USGS[1]	COMPANY[2]	PERMIT[3]	ADJUSTED[4]
Ammonia		7,500 stpy		[Membership required]
Units: stpd, stpy, mtpd, mtpy = short/metric tons per day/year. [1] United States Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Yearbook, Nitrogen gives capacity in metric tons per year, calculated as “engineering design capacity adjusted for 340 days per year of effective production capability,” rounded to three significant digits. Source: most recent year, Table 4: Domestic Producers of Ammonia, http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/nitrogen/. [2] Company presentation. See sources below. [3] No permit documents yet. [4] [Membership required]. See Methodology.

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SUMMARY STATUS: Planning Phase
Midwest BioEnergy is planning a series of small waste-to-ammonia plants at municipal and industrial sites in the heart of the ammonia fertilizer market. The Monmouth plant will be the “proof of concept.” Some equity in place; debt financing secured, contingent upon equity investment.

COST: $16.4 million
JOB CREATION: 9 permanent, 40 construction
START-UP DATE: 2020, earliest estimate
LIKELIHOOD: Unlikely — see Methodology

CAPACITY	USGS[1]	COMPANY[2]	PERMIT[3]	ADJUSTED[4]
Ammonia		7,500 stpy		6,804 mtpy
Units: stpd, stpy, mtpd, mtpy = short/metric tons per day/year. [1] United States Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Yearbook, Nitrogen gives capacity in metric tons per year, calculated as “engineering design capacity adjusted for 340 days per year of effective production capability,” rounded to three significant digits. Source: most recent year, Table 4: Domestic Producers of Ammonia, http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/nitrogen/. [2] Company presentation. See sources below. [3] No permit documents yet. [4] Adjusted Capacity is in metric tons per year assuming operations for 365 days per year; based on company data. See Methodology.

FEEDSTOCK: Biogas (waste)
END PRODUCTS: Ammonia

RESEARCH NOTES:
In 2014, Midwest BioEnergy Ltd announced plans to build a small-scale waste-to-ammonia plant at the municipal water treatment facility in Monmouth, IL. Since then, there has been no progress.

If financing were to proceed in the future, design, permitting, and construction of the Monmouth plant could all be complete within 12 months and, in addition, the company could move ahead with three other near-identical plants, which it already has in the planning stages.

The 7,500 short ton per year (stpy) ammonia plant at Monmouth would purchase waste biogas from the municipal water treatment facility as feedstock, making the end product “low carbon,” “renewable ammonia.” Natural gas is available on-site as a backup feedstock. The biogas supply contract set a feedstock price of $1 “per dekatherm,” roughly equivalent to $1 per mmBTU, much less than the cost of natural gas in the US.

The ammonia synthesis system was going to use Agrebon‘s “Haber-Bosch proven fertilizer technology,” which has yet to be demonstrated in a commercial plant. (In 2012, Agrebon announced plans for a urea plant that would use ethanol stillage as feedstock in Casselton, ND; that particular site never progressed.) However, as far as I can tell, Agrebon is no longer a going concern.

The feasibility study was completed by Black and Veatch. Audobon Engineering Company performed a “third party engineering review” to validate Agrebon’s technology. The EPC contract had been given to Brasfield and Gorrie, on “a Not-to-Exceed bonded contract.”

The City of Monmouth committed $500,000 (courtesy of a DOE grant for the project) to build the gas clean-up system; this part of the project has already been completed.

Monmouth stood to benefit financially from the project in two ways. First, the project would have created a long-term revenue stream from sales of the waste biogas, which was previously vented to the atmosphere. Second, by reducing the wastewater facility’s air emissions, the city would no longer need to maintain a Title V Permit to comply with the Clean Air Act, but would become a minor source emitter, saving considerable ongoing costs.

According to an investment package provided by the project’s financial advisors, US Capital Partners, the plant was estimated to cost $16.4 million to build. $10 million of this would have been debt, for which the company’s finance advisors told me an agreement was in place, pending additional equity commitments. The principals, the Holesinger brothers, through Holesinger Farms Inc, had already invested $500,000 in project development. An additional $5.9 million equity was being raised – but I have no information to suggest this was ever successfully completed. The project had an “Estimated Equity IRR (pre-tax)” of 18.2% (this assumes an average ammonia sale price of $597, which was optimistic).

Pre-sale agreements were in place for 90% of the plant output (563 short tons per month) with United Suppliers and Tanner Industries; the rest of the output would have been purchased by Holesinger Farms. The ammonia sale price was going to be determined using the Green Markets index, with a floor price of $300 per short ton.[/memberful]

View larger map with all ammonia plants.

ADDRESS: City of Monmouth water treatment facility, Monmouth, IL 61462, United States

WEBSITE: http://www.midwestbioenergy.com/

REGULATORY SOURCES:

• Permit documents: none yet

NEWS SOURCES:

• 07/25/2014: Daily Review Atlas, local news story: City reaches agreement for bio-gas plant [LINK]
• 07/01/2014: Midwest BioEnergy presentation: Renewable Ammonia Development Opportunity – Executive Summary [PDF]
• 05/2014: US Capital Partners press release: US Capital Partners Engaged as Strategic Advisor in $100 Million Debt and Equity Raise for Midwest BioEnergy [LINK]