APRIL 2024 13 dioxide emissions. Back in the 1870s, farmers understood that adding ammonia and nitrate to the soil could increase their crop yields dramatically. Sodium nitrate was mined in South America for use as a nitrogen fertilizer. So high was its demand that just 20 years later, there was concern that the increased global demand would deplete the nitrate deposits. Owing to those concerns and the fact that rival Great Britain (now the United Kingdom) held a stranglehold on the world’s nitrate supply, German chemists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch developed the ammonia-making process in 1913. Although the German war machine of WWI corrupted the process to create nitrate explosives, after the war ended, the Haber-Bosch process was considered for agricultural purposes. Despite all the good that fertilizers have done for humankind, we still need to be mindful of the negative effects of improper usage. As CAAR members know, while fertilizers have played a key role in boosting crop yields and providing security for North American food producers, the success of the fertilizer industry and the larger yields have also contributed to drawing more people to our breadbasket and growing our national population. But with the good comes the environmental and climate challenges. One solution—along with the cricket carcasses— has been something touted as green ammonia. This is hydrogen produced by electrolysis and powered by renewable energy sources. Green ammonia is also called green hydrogen. Using green ammonia/hydrogen will reduce carbon emissions in ammonia manufacturing, but it doesn’t do anything about the roots of carbon emissions. As we know, after an ammonia-based fertilizer is applied to soil, the bacteria begin a nitrification process that converts the ammonia into nitrates. Nitric oxide, a GHG emission, is created as a by-product during this process. As well, ammonia gas is also released into the atmosphere via the volatilzation process, which contributes to air pollution. Some researchers are looking to move away from ammonia-based fertilizers and continue on the nitrate fertilizer path, but to do so in a more green and sustainable manner.
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