As was indicated yesterday, Fibrominn has entered into a final agreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to resolve issues related to the start-up and early operation of the plant.

So what is this agreement about?

The Fibrominn plant in Benson, Minnesota began operation in May 2007. During early operation, the plant was run by the contractor responsible for the design and construction of the plant until they were able to demonstrate that the plant could meet agreed-to performance standards. The first steps in this operation of the plant were the commissioning of various operating systems. During commissioning, each of these systems were started up, brought on line, and integrated into a fully working plant. In Minnesota, this involved the commissioning of several systems that had not been previously used in poultry litter fuelled plants.

To meet the strict permit limits set by the MPCA as part of a Best Available Control Technology (BACT) determination, the Fibrominn plant includes the use of improved combustion techniques, nitrogen oxide (NOx) reduction technology, and a combination of a scrubber and fabric filter baghouse to reduce sulfur, chlorine, and particulate matter emissions. At the Benson facility, the emission control technology represents the first instance where this NOx control (what is referred to as SNCR – Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction) and scrubber (identified as an SDA – spray dryer absorber) have been used for such a difficult fuel as poultry litter. As a result, the start-up and “shakedown” (i.e. optimization) of the plant was quite a challenge for the contractor and for Fibrominn.

The Fibrominn plant was started-up in May 2007 and brought quickly into full production to meet commitments made to the poultry farmers that were reliant on the Fibrominn project as part of their nutrient management plans and in response to construction delays. While the plant could have used up to 180 days to reach full capacity, the plant went through start-up, ramped up production, and to full capacity (May – July 2007) and, looking back, went through these steps before all of the bugs had been worked out. As a result, the plant has gone through a lot of challenging times but Fibrominn has now corrected the operating and administrative issues that lead to these problems.

As the first power plant of its kind in the United States, it’s not surprising that we had a few kinks that needed to be worked out. The good news: we learn from these missteps – and we won’t repeat them.