Dakota Gas experiences record production of urea and diesel exhaust fluid

In June, Basin Electric subsidiary Dakota Gasification Company produced a record amount of urea, a granular fertilizer used in agricultural applications, and diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), a urea liquor required by law for emissions control of modern diesel engines.

Zach Jacobson, manager of Marketing and Sales at Dakota Gas, said on June 1, the urea production facility at Dakota Gas reached its highest ever daily production rate. This production made for a new urea production record for the facility, exceeding the previous record set on April 5, 2020.

This spike in urea production also yielded a new average production record for the month, topping the previous monthly record in May 2023.

Monthly production rates of DEF in June surpassed the previous record in November 2023.

“Reaching these record rates takes a significant amount of teamwork between operations, logistics, maintenance, marketing, N-7, and other groups to accomplish this,” Jacobson said. “This is a result of the team’s hard work and the maximization of sale opportunities.”

Trinity Turnbow, Basin Electric vice president and Operations manager at Dakota Gas, said, “Continued investment, along with sales growth, has led to steady improvements in production volumes, and have aided in the making of these new records.”