In the early 1900s, Birkeland and Eyde ionized air into nitric acid, concentrated it and turned it into calcium nitrate for easy transportation. It was inefficient and required large amounts of energy. In the 1910s Haber and Bosch combined natural gas (a by-product of the oil industry) and air under high temperatures and pressure to create ammonia which was further processed into nitrate fertilizers. The process was much less expensive than Berkeland-Eyde and thus became the fertilizer of choice for the next century. In the last 60 years, nitrogen fertilizer usage has grown by 10 times the amount, from 12 million tonnes to over 123 million tonnes per year.
Air
Synthetic fertilizer production is necessary for global food security and population growth, though it contributes to 1.5 gigatons of emissions per year, or 2% of all emissions each year, for generation and application. For every 1 pound of nitrogen produced and applied, a farmer emits 15 pounds of CO2 equivalents.
Soil
Nitrogen fertilizers propelled us through the green revolution in the mid 1900s. The more nitrogen you applied, the greater the yield. Only recently have we discovered the unintended consequences of increased yield using fertilizers, the degradation of our soils. Soil is a living synergistic ecosystem that includes billions of microbes, fungi and other living organisms that rely on each other and input from crops. By using fertilizer, which compromises the organism's ability to function (high salt concentrations) and removing the plant life that is absorbing energy from the sun, we are turning our nutrient rich soil into lifeless dirt lacking nutrients that cannot sustain plant growth.
Water
Fertilizer has been cheap over the last 100 years relative to the benefits of increased yield. So it makes sense to use as much as you can afford. Unfortunately, this leads to waste. Fertilizer runoff or leaching has been linked to the nitrification of our waterways and the cause of algae blooms, many of which are toxic. Excessive nitrates (a very water mobile molecule) leaches into the water over, feeding the algae. Algae grow at a much faster rate and take over the ecosystem, consuming all the dissolved oxygen in the water, also known as eutrophication. This leads to the death of marine wildlife and the elimination of the very thing keeping the algae at bay.
Over the past 20 years, more research has been conducted to determine the effects of synthetic fertilizers on the environment. Here are a few papers and a video to provide more in depth information. Please also use our digital assistant. They are connected to a much more vast knowledge base.
Agriculture and climate change: Reducing emissions through improved farming practices.
Global mean nitrogen recovery efficiency in croplands can be enhanced by optimal nutrient, crop and soil management practices.
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