Time-Lapse of Large Ammonium Nitrate Storage Inflated in Elkhart, Texas
Wayne Norsworthy with El Dorado Agricultural Products turning on the inflator fans.
It’s Monday morning, January 6, and Wayne Norsworthy with El Dorado Agricultural Products flipped the switch to the inflator fans. A 115-foot diameter by 92.5-foot tall Airform began to inflate. Soon the tallest building in Elkhart, Texas is a Monolithic Dome Airform.
The new dome will store 20,000 tons of granular ammonium nitrate fertilizer. It will replace the 5,000-ton storage which will be retasked to store other fertilizer products.
The newly inflated Airform membrane towers over the neighboring buildings at the retail fertilizer plant in Elkhart. A wood structure was razed to make room for the dome.
The completed facility will load ammonium nitrate from railcars through an elevator and conveyor system into the dome. The product will pour—inside at the top—into a pile that is easily contained by the steel-reinforced concrete structure. The storage volume of the domed silo is significantly larger than the wood building it replaced without using any additional land.
A strong, steel door at the dome opening will allow nitrate to flow out into the tunnel where front-end loaders can retrieve material to be mixed with other fertilizer components and sold to area farms.
The foam and concrete construction of the dome will extend into the small, protruding augment. When complete, the inflated end is cut off and the finished, reinforced opening will be used for the loading conveyor. This x-ray illustration of the finished structure shows how the product nearly fills the entire structure. AC equipment on the tunnel actively maintains a cool, dry climate inside the dome, reducing caking and corrosion.
Javier Figueroa photo and Mike South illustration.
HVAC units on the tunnel will force cool, dry air into the dome, maintaining an even temperature and dry climate—optimal for storing ammonium nitrate.
The finished structure will open in the Spring.
Aerial view of the fully inflated membrane near the railcar siding in Elkhart, Texas.