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Do fertilizers have fossil fuels?
There’s not just the shipping of fertilizer to farms to consider, but the actual production of it. Much of the fertilizer used in the world today is a product of fossil fuel. So, in effect, we are eating fossil fuel. Many food crops are heavily dependent upon nitrogen.
Is there an alternative to fossil fuels?
The main alternatives to oil and gas energy include nuclear power, solar power, ethanol, and wind power. The many oil alternatives are ballooning as more research and development occurs in this space, and as supply and demand laws of economics eventually push down prices to be competitive with traditional fossil fuels.
How is fertilizer made from natural gas?
It is made by combining the nitrogen in the air with hydrogen in methane to produce ammonia (NH3). The ammonia is then used to create other forms of nitrogen including ammonium nitrate and urea (ammonia + CO2). Natural gas is used to provide the methane and a heat source for the process.
Do chemical fertilizers emit greenhouse gases?
Today, ammonia is the second-most commonly produced chemical in the world, used in huge quantities as a very effective fertilizer. Fertilizers also produce greenhouse gases after farmers apply them to their fields. Crops only take up, on average, about half of the nitrogen they get from fertilizers.
Why does the use of chemical fertilizers in agriculture trigger global warming?
Excessive use of nitrogen-based fertilisers in agriculture is contributing to nitrous oxide emissions. Leftover nitrogen that hasn’t been absorbed by plants, reacts with the soil to produce this dangerous greenhouse gas.
Do you need natural gas to make fertilizer?
Natural gas is a key ingredient in the process used to make nitrogen-based fertilizers used on a range of crops, including corn and wheat. Natural gas accounts for 75\% to 90\% of operating costs in the production of nitrogen, Taylor noted.
Which fossil fuel product is used in fertilizers industry?
In a modern plant, nitrogen fertilizer is produced from natural gas. In several transformation steps, natural gas, essentially methane, is upgraded by combination with nitrogen from the air to form nitrogen fertilizer.
How are chemical fertilizers manufactured?
Based on the two main end products, ammonium nitrate and urea, different fertilizer types are manufactured by mixing with ingredients such as phosphorus and potassium to form NPKs, dolomite to form CAN or by mixing urea and ammonium nitrate solution to make UAN.