Welcome to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture Emergency
Response to Anhydrous Ammonia Releases (Spills) web site.
This site is designed as an educational aid for those who respond
to, prepare for, or who will be in charge when a spill of anhydrous
ammonia occurs. In most cases that first responder will be a
member of the local fire department. Therefore, this site is
geared toward providing in-depth instruction for our first responders
-- the fire departments of Minnesota
What is ammonia?
Anhydrous ammonia
is used as a fertilizer by Minnesota producers of field corn and
wheat. Anhydrous ammonia (or just ammonia for ease of discussion)
provides nitrogen, an essential plant nutrient to maximize
yields. Ammonia is also found naturally in the environment, the
result of vegetation and animal waste decay. Although
ammonia is used as a refrigerant and in the manufacture of many
other chemicals, this web site will only discuss ammonia fertilizer.
How is it transported and applied?
Fertilizer
ammonia is transported from the site of production via barge, pipeline,
rail, and truck to fertilizer terminals or directly to dealers.
To conserve space and make it easy to handle, ammonia is kept as
a liquid under pressure in specially designed bulk tanks. The fertilizer
dealer (PDF: 91 KB / 1 page) pumps liquid
ammonia from their bulk tank into smaller mobile nurse tanks. These
nurse tanks are towed to a field and hitched up behind a tractor
with a tool bar equipped with knives
that inject the liquid ammonia
into the soil. Once in the soil ammonia will quickly react with
soil moisture and change to a form the crop can use.
Brief history of ammonia
Ammonia is commercially
produced by the reaction of nitrogen from the air and hydrogen
gas under high temperature and pressure. This process excludes
water thus the term "anhydrous".
Fritz Haber of Germany was the first to successfully produce ammonia
for which he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Later Carl Bosch refined the process which lead to
the first commercial production plant in 1913.
Ammonia was initially used to produce explosives. After WWI
ammonia was used as a fertilizer and in the manufacture of numerous
other chemicals. Unfortunately, ammonia has also been used of late
as a precursor in the illegal production of the highly additive
drug, methamphetamine.
Acknowledgements
A great number of people voluntarily
spent their time and effort in reviewing this web site-improving
it immensely. Special acknowledgements go to James Freilinger (MDA
employee and Paynesville Fire Department), Gerald Schwartz (Central
Lakes Coop and Fire Chief), Robert Sportel (Prinsburg Farmers Coop
and Fire Chief), Kristi Rollwagen (Minneapolis Fire), Michael Ritchie
(MNDOT), and MDA employees Kim Von Toft, Steve Poncin, Robert Rialson,
and Ed Kaiser.
Related Link
Minnesota Educational & Regulatory Ammonia Program
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