Exciting project reduces emissions at Redwater

Published: Jun 25, 2020

The essential role Nutrien plays in the global food supply chain means it’s critical that we continue to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic – as long as we can do so safely – so we can continue to supply growers with the crop nutrients they need to feed people. 

Add in our focus on sustainability and environmental impact, and that means protecting the planet and minimizing our environmental footprint – and a new project at our Redwater, Alberta nitrogen facility is helping us make a significant impact in this area. 

To produce nitrogen fertilizer, which is a critical nutrient to grow healthy crops globally, you need to first produce ammonia (NH3) – and carbon dioxide (CO2) is a byproduct of this process.  At Redwater, a large portion of the CO2 produced is used in the downstream manufacturing process, as it’s needed to produce urea (a dry granular nitrogen product). The rest of the CO2 was vented and contributed to our greenhouse gas emissions. 

In a significant development towards reducing our emissions, approximately 500 tonnes per day of CO2 is now being sequestered deep underground and used in enhanced oil recovery, through the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line (ACTL), a joint venture between Wolf Midstream and Enhance.  

Thanks to support from both the federal and provincial governments, the project also showcases their commitment to mitigate climate change and support job growth. 

The amount of greenhouse gases sequestered annually as a result of this project is the equivalent of taking 52,000 vehicles off the road for a year.

In the future, there could be an opportunity to use the same process with the site’s smaller ammonia plant.

During these challenging times, continuing to produce the nutrients required to ensure future food production is critically important – and so is doing it in an environmentally responsible manner. This is one way we are growing our world from the ground up.