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Ammonia fertilizer can be manufactured with nuclear heat to grow healthy crops.

Fertilizer

Did you know that is takes 450 to 500°C to make ammonia fertilizer? The high temperature gas-cooled reactor can be used in the process, replacing fossil fuels.

Fertilizer is often manufactured using the Haber-Bosch process, which produces ammonia. This ammonia can be applied directly to the soil or used in chemical combinations. The Haber-Bosch process is important because ammonia is difficult to produce on an industrial scale.

The volatile and upward trend in U.S. natural gas prices from 2000 to 2006 has led to a 17 percent decline in the national supply of ammonia. U.S. ammonia production declined more than 4 percent, while U.S. ammonia imports have increased 115 percent in the same timeframe. Production of ammonia in the U.S. dropped, while the share from imports increased from 15 percent to 42 percent. The decline in production raised the price for farmers 130 percent from $227 per ton in 2000 to $521 per ton in 2006. The rise of natural gas prices could cause less production of ammonia and a greater dependence on ammonia imports.¹

Although natural gas is most often used for the production of ammonia, a high temperature gas-cooled reactor — coupled with a hydrogen source as the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) project is proposing — can be used for the production of ammonia suitable for fertilizers. The increased cost of fertilizer can be traced in part to the increased demand and rising cost of natural gas. Natural gas makes up nearly 85 percent of the cost of producing ammonia. Ammonia-based fertilizers are most commonly used to treat fields for growing corn, followed by barley, sorghum, rapeseed and sunflower.