Longview biogas plant to produce fertilizer as Hormuz closure stalls market
Divert Inc. leaders say the fertilizer product it is preparing to produce at its new Longview facility will be well-timed, given disruptions in the global market.
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The bioenergy company debuted its facility at the Mint Farm industrial park on April 29, featuring first-of-its-kind technologies that transform inedible food waste into natural gas.
What's produced is then piped directly into the Cascade Natural Gas system.
While the Strait of Hormuz blockade is affecting energy markets, Chris Thomas, Divert's vice president of public affairs, said the fertilizer interference may impact the company more.
"There's a big disruption there," Thomas said.
Energy markets have been getting most of the attention since the beginning of March, when Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to U.S. and Israeli military attacks that began Feb. 28.
But the global fertilizer market has seen similar impacts.
The Persian Gulf is a production hub for nitrogen and phosphate - two of the main ingredients in fertilizer, according to Washington, D.C.-based International Food Policy Research Institute.
In 2024, up to 30% of global fertilizer trade passed through the Strait of Hormuz from the Gulf, the institute reports.
With shipments blocked, fertilizer prices are rising.
Scenes from the Port of Fujairah, as U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran limits marine traffic in the Strait of Hormuz
Container Ship 'Xin Hai Kou' at the Port of Fujairah, as the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran limits marine traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, May 6, 2026.
Plastic-free fertilizer
Thomas said Divert has a nitrogen-rich fertilizer product nearly ready to be sold from the Longview facility.
The company is already selling fertilizer at its Turlock facility, and Longview is starting to produce enough of a nitrogen-rich soil amendment.
Thomas said Divert's technology can separate plastics and other inorganic compounds before the liquid generated from fresh food waste enters a 3 million-gallon anaerobic digester, creating a plastic-free fertilizer option.
Some fertilizers are coated in plastic to control release to ensure plants receive the right amount of nutrients at the right time, but that plastic can seep into soil and water.
Catherine Vecchitto, a process scientist at the Longview plant, said during a facility tour that its soil additive is skimmed from the top of the anaerobic digester liquor.
Scientists regularly test the liquid at different stages for properties such as viscosity, alkalinity and electrical conductivity.
Divert's Longview plant went live in January and began ramping up production in late March after transitioning away from an earlier facility in Albany, Oregon.
Another fertilizer company
Another primary fertilizer nutrient - potash - could soon be exported from Longview.
Global agricultural products giant Nutrien is eyeing the Port of Longview for a $500 million to $1 billion plan to export potash fertilizer.
The company aims to make a final decision on whether to build at the Port of Longview's Columbia Riverfront site in the newly redeveloped Berth 4 by 2027.
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