Menlo to be site of corncob-to-ammonia plant

Des Moines Register
By DAN PILLER • dpiller@dmreg.com • March 30, 2009

SynGest of San Francisco said it will make anhydrous ammonia fuel and fertilizer from corncobs and other biomass from a plant to be located on 75 acres near Menlo, west of Des Moines.

The $80 million plant will sit adjacent to the Hawkeye Renewables ethanol plant east of Menlo. When in operation, the facility will employ about 40 workers.

The company said it has signed an agreement to buy the land. The plant will be the first of its kind in the United States to convert biomass into fertilizer. The so-called "auto thermal" process burns the cobs at temperatures up to 1,700 degrees to produce a vapor that is liquefied into ammonia.

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