A small contingent of Basin Electric and Dakota Gasification Company employees traveled to the Netherlands and Austria in early April to review urea processing technology and visit a fabrication shop that will build equipment for Dakota Gas’ planned urea production facility.
The group of employees included Daren Eliason, Dakota Gas’ urea project engineering lead; Mike Seefeld, Basin Electric senior contract administrator; Tanner Broderick, Basin Electric mechanical engineer; and Matt Greek, Basin Electric senior vice president of generation and urea project executive manager.
The contingent first traveled to the Netherlands to meet with Stamicarbon, the company that will license the urea technology, for a project kick-off meeting. Stamicarbon will be involved in reviewing key drawings and other design information throughout the project.
The group next stopped in Austria to see the fabrication shop that is going to build three of the largest and most expensive vessels needed for the urea plant. The largest vessel will weigh about 260 tons, and will be lined with a proprietary duplex stainless steel material called Safurex® to resist corrosion in the process.
Greek recently hired Mike Pontbriand as the urea project manager. Pontbriand previously worked at the Synfuels Plant in a variety of capacities from 1982-2007 and oversaw the construction of the ammonia plant, the flue gas desulfurization unit and the carbon dioxide pipeline and compressors.
The $402 million urea project is expected to be complete spring 2017. Urea, a granular fertilizer commonly used in agricultural applications, will mark the 11th product for the Synfuels Plant. The new facility will also produce diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), the 12th product for the Synfuels Plant. DEF is used to reduce nitrous oxides emissions in diesel engines, as mandated by the federal government on all new diesel engines.