Rentech

Rentech, Inc. (stands for Renewable Energy Technology ) is a Los Angeles, California, based United States company that owns and operates wood fiber processing and nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing businesses. It provides wood chipping and wood pellet services through a subsidiary Fulghum Fibres, Inc. and sells nitrogen fertilizer through Rentech Nitrogen Partners, L.P. In addition, Rentech owns the intellectual property (including patents, pilot and demonstration data, and engineering designs) for a number of energy technologies, such as Rentech–SilvaGas Gasification Process and Fischer–Tropsch process based Rentech Process.

Energy technologies
Rentech was initially formed in 1981 by Charles Benham and Mark Bohn to develop and commercialize certain alternative energy technologies. In 1991, it incensed its Rentech Process to the Fuel Resources Development Company (Fuelco) to produce diesel fuel from landfill gas at the Synhytech facility in Pueblo, Colorado. Rentech obtained ownership of the facility in 1993. This project failed and was closed at the same year due to lower than expected gas volumes. In 2000, Rentech acquired a methanol plant at Commerce City, Colorado, which was converted to a gas-to-liquids plant. In 2009, it unveiled plan for construction of a synthetic fuels plant in Rialto, California, and together with ASIG it agreed with 13 airlines to provide synthetic diesel for ground services at Los Angeles International Airport. In 2010 it made a memorandum of understanding with 14 airlines pto provide alternative jet fuel and diesel fuel from its planned biofuels production complex project in Natchez, Mississippi. In 2011, Rentech agreed with the Government of Ontario to build a plant in White River, Ontario. to convert 1.3 million tons of provincial forests into jet fuel and naphtha. At the same year it purchased the 55 MW biomass integrated gasification combined cycle power plant project in Port St. Joe, Florida. This project was halted 2012. In 2013, Rentech changed its focus from biofuels to wood pellets production. It closed its product demonstration unit in Commerce City which was developing technology for conversion of cellulosic biomass into synthetic gas. It also cancelled its biofuels production complex project in Natchez.

Wood processing
In May 2013 Rentech acquired Georgia-based Fulghum Fibres, Inc. As part of the acquisition of Fulghum Fibres, Rentech entered into a joint venture with Graanul Invest. In 2013, it also acquired wood processing facilities in Atikokan and Wawa, Ontario, which it converting into of pellet factories.

Nitrogen fertilizers
Rentech entered into the nitrogen fertilizer business in 2006 when it acquired from Agrium an ammonia nitrogen fertilizer facility located in East Dubuque, Illinois. In 2011, Rentech consolidated its nitrogen fertilizer business into subsidiary company Rentech Nitrogen Partners. At the same year Rentech Nitrogen was listed at the New York Stock Exchange. In 2012, Rentech acquired Agrifos LLC, which owns a synthetic granulated ammonium sulfate fertilizer plant in Pasadena, Texas.