Minnesota plant will produce fertiliser from wind

www.businessweek.com
June 9, 2010

Researchers in Minnesota soon will produce fertiliser from the wind. Work is beginning on a nearly $4 million project that uses wind power from a towering turbine to produce anhydrous ammonia, a common nitrogen-based fertiliser. The fertiliser produced at the test plant at the University of Minnesota in Morris will be used on the university's farm land, but supporters of the project say a system in which fertiliser is produced and sold nearby could contribute to the local economy. The system creates fertiliser by using an air separation unit to pull nitrogen from the air, while the turbine powers a machine that separates water into hydrogen and oxygen. The nitrogen and hydrogen are then synthesised into anhydrous ammonia.