The Greening of Fertilizer

Chemistry professor David Tyler and his team are nearing a laboratory breakthrough in developing a process for producing fertilizer that would require far less energy.

"Just imagine if you could free up 2 percent of the world's energy. That would be huge," Tyler said. The team is closing in on a new and improved method for producing ammonia, the key ingredient in commercial fertilizer.

Ammonia is the fuel that powers the world's food system. Finding a more energy-efficient way to produce ammonia could have widespread effects because we rely on commercial fertilizer to feed a third of the global population.

But surprisingly little has changed in the hundred years since German chemists first commercialized the process for manufacturing ammonia. The traditional method requires large amounts of natural gas to harness and convert nitrogen from the air into ammonia. Nearly 5 percent of the world's natural gas production each year is consumed in this process. Today's commercial fertilizer also creates the unfortunate biproduct of large amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide.

It's a field in need of innovation, said Tyler. His team is searching for ways to produce tomorrow's commercial fertilizer by way of a greener chemical process.

"At the University of Oregon there's an emphasis on green chemistry. We really want to make an impact on the environment and this is a clear example of that," Tyler said.

Their goal is to synthesize ammonia in water. "We've come up with a way -- at least on paper -- to make ammonia in water rather than in organic solvents," Tyler said. This is particularly important because the use of organic solvents causes more harm to the environment.

The team is on the brink of nailing down the exact process and identifying the right catalyst. They anticipate a breakthrough within the next few years.