Partly cloudy skies. High 76F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..
Clear skies. Low around 55F. Winds light and variable.
The coal-fueled boiler that produces steam and electricity at ADM's Mankato soybean processing plant is located near the center of the 28.5-acre parcel east of Third Avenue.
The coal-fueled boiler that produces steam and electricity at ADM's Mankato soybean processing plant is located near the center of the 28.5-acre parcel east of Third Avenue.
MANKATO — A north-end soybean processing plant, which appears to be the last major coal-burning facility in Mankato, is about to convert to natural gas.
The Archer-Daniels-Midland plant on Third Avenue has received city permits to construct a new natural-gas boiler to replace a coal-fueled boiler that’s long been one of the region’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases. The boiler produces both steam and electricity required to process oilseeds at the sprawling facility.
“At our Mankato, Minnesota, oilseed facility, we have started a conversion project to replace an existing coal-fired boiler with a high pressure, natural-gas-fired boiler,” said Dan Lisser, a spokesman at ADM’s Chicago headquarters, in a written response to Free Press questions. “The new boiler will allow efficient cogeneration of steam and power using a lower carbon fuel.”
Coal was a common industrial fuel when the plant came into existence in 1956. Now covering nearly 30 acres just south of Highway 14 along the Union Pacific rail line, the ADM complex has had numerous additions in the past 60 years — including multiple natural gas-fueled boilers — and now carries a taxable value of $14.5 million.
But the coal-fired boiler was still producing substantial carbon dioxide emissions when Mankato commissioned a citywide greenhouse gas inventory in 2014. The report, looking at 2008 figures, found the facility was responsible for about 14% of emissions in Mankato — more than 120,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases.
That was more than the combined emissions for transportation and more than all of the emissions from residential electricity and natural gas consumption, according to the report by Louis Schwartzkopf, a retired Minnesota State University physics professor.
The use of the coal-fired boiler may have been curtailed since 2008, based on the information provided by ADM’s Lisser, who suggested that its decommissioning would reduce emissions by much less than 120,000 metric tons.
“This project is estimated to reduce our Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by over 50,000 metric tons per year in Mankato,” Lisser said in a written statement.
Scope 1 and 2 emissions refer to those coming from facilities directly owned or controlled by the company. Scope 3 covers emissions that are a consequence of the company’s actions but emanate from sources not directly owned or controlled by ADM.
The multinational agricultural processing and commodities giant has set a goal of reducing all three types of emissions by 25% by 2035, according to the firm’s 2021 sustainability report.
The 63-page report specifically mentioned plans to replace coal-fueled boilers at oilseed plants in Mankato; Des Moines, Iowa; and Lincoln, Nebraska, projecting they would combine to cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 150,000 metric tons per year.
“And the upgrades will also allow us to pivot to other lower carbon fuels such as renewable natural gas or hydrogen when they become commercially available,” the report stated.
It’s not a small project, according to documents included with ADM’s application for a municipal conditional-use permit. A new building totaling nearly 2,200-square feet in size and 38 feet in height will be constructed to house the new natural-gas boiler, which will be capable of producing 150,000 pounds of steam per hour at a pressure of 1,500 psi and a temperature of 900 degrees.
As part of the permitting process, the company completed a noise study.
“The natural gas boiler is anticipated to have similar or lower noise levels,” according to a memo to the City Council.
Because of the logistics of constructing the new building in the vicinity of the existing boiler, the old equipment must shut down in advance of construction. So coal-burning will soon be history at the plant if it’s not already.
“We are looking to begin construction by early fall,” Lisser said.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.
Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox.
First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.