Augusta
P.O. Box 1483, Augusta, GA 30903 | (706) 849-6100
Warren Stroman, General Manager | E-mail Warren
View Plant Sustainability Brochures
Operations
Augusta produces anhydrous ammonia, urea, nitric acid, ammonium nitrate, liquid carbon dioxide and liquid fertilizers. It has an annual capacity of 758,000 tons of ammonia and is the largest producer of nitrogen chemical and fertilizer products on the US east coast.
Significant Events
Major overhauls of the C-2 nitric acid plant and the ammonia plant took place in 2007. Equipment and instrument upgrades were completed to improve plant reliability and capacity. The nitric acid plant capacity was increased from 1,080 tpd to 1,200 tpd. The ammonia plant capacity was increased from 2,100 tpd to 2,250 tpd, yielding an energy savings of 0.32 MMBtu/ST.
Community Relations
Augusta has joined with five other chemical manufacturing plants in the area and formed the River Road Community Advisory Panel (CAP), which met quarterly to discuss topics of interest in the community. The primary focus of the CAP was safety, emergency preparedness, community involvement and environmental protection.
Community Donations
Cash donations to local community organizations in 2007 totaled $88,938. The main recipient organizations were the United Way of the Central Savannah River Area, Augusta Boxing Club, University Health Care Foundation, Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy and the Augusta State National Science Olympiad.
In-kind contributions totaled $44,000 in 2007. Beneficiaries included Adopt-a-School, the United Way of the CSRA, Blood Drive, Toys-for-Tots and Golden Harvest Food Bank.
Education Partnerships
Examples of education initiatives and partnerships include the Adopt-A-School program with Hornsby Elementary School and East Augusta Middle School, Co-op program affiliation with Georgia Tech, participation in the Chemical Operator Advisory Board at Augusta Technical College, sponsorship of all Aiken County science and mathematics teachers at the annual Teacher's Appreciation Dinner, and support of Augusta State University's 2009 National Science Olympiad.
Awards
Augusta was recognized for its contributions at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the United Way of the Central Savannah River Area in three categories: Corporate Honor Roll, Top Overall Gifts under 300 Employees and Top Employee Gifts.
Environment
The site completed and submitted a Phase IV work plan to the Georgia Environmental Protection Department regarding TCE contamination of the groundwater. The site is waiting for acceptance of the plan and is in the process of evaluating three potential technologies to identify the most effective one to apply to site-wide remediation activities.
Procurement
The value of all goods, materials and services purchased locally in 2007 (excluding raw materials, transportation and energy) was $30.6 million. This represents 51 percent of spending by the site.
| Performance Trends – Augusta |
| |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
Annual Production (000 tons) |
| Ammonia |
733 |
722 |
698 |
672 |
| Urea solids |
406 |
397 |
356 |
344 |
| Urea liquid |
493 |
489 |
440 |
439 |
| Nitrogen solutions |
248 |
267 |
217 |
263 |
| Nitric acid/ammonium nitrate (liquid) |
1,299 |
1,239 |
1,280 |
1,051 |
Employment |
| # of employees |
111 |
119 |
118 |
118 |
| # of female employees |
9 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
| Gender ratio (% female/total employees) |
8.0 |
8.4 |
8.5 |
8.5 |
| Average tenure (years) |
18.3 |
16.7 |
16.9 |
16.5 |
| Absenteeism rate (% hours absent) |
1.6 |
1.9 |
2.4 |
2.0 |
| Employee training provided (hrs per employee) |
498 |
192 |
24 |
23 |
Safety Performance |
| Lost-time frequency (per 200,000 hrs) |
0.7 |
0 |
0.7 |
0 |
| Recordable frequency (per 200,000 hrs) |
0.7 |
0 |
0.7 |
1.5 |
Greenhouse Gas Emissions |
| GHG emissions (000 tons) |
1,224 |
1,234 |
1,216 |
1,206 |
| Normalized GHGs (GHGs/ton N production) |
2.13 |
2.15 |
2.21 |
2.21 |
Criteria/Significant Air Pollutants (tons) |
| Nitrogen oxides |
2.43 |
2.25 |
2.53 |
2.26 |
| Carbon monoxide |
4.71 |
0.80 |
0.82 |
0.82 |
Emissions to Water (tons) |
| Ammonia as N |
180.7 |
97.0 |
213.0 |
170.4 |
| Total nitrogen as N |
395.3 |
190.6 |
410.6 |
410.6 |
Water Use (million gallons) |
| Water withdrawn |
2,055 |
1,992 |
1,462 |
940 |
| Recycled water |
757 |
757 |
757 |
447 |
Environmental Expenditures ($ million) |
| Operating expenditures |
4.3 |
4.8 |
4.0 |
10.0 |
| Capital expenditures |
0.4 |
2.4 |
0.8 |
1.4 |
Energy |
| Energy costs ($ million) |
177 |
228 |
202 |
189 |
| Energy use (BBtu) |
25,633 |
24,939 |
24,843 |
26,352 |
| Energy efficiency (MMBtu/ton NH3) |
31.6 |
31.0 |
31.5 |
31.8 |
Procurement |
| Local purchasing ($ million) |
14.8 |
22.8 |
24.4 |
30.6 |
|
