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Mariah Soebbing-Volk

Mr. Rudebusch

English Comp. IV

19 December 2016

A Chemically Imbalanced World

Fertilizer is great for our world; it makes the ground fertile enough to allow us to feed our

ever-growing population. Over the years, fertilizing has become widespread: a necessary

practice. It has greatly increased crop yields. Without fertilizer, we wouldnt be able to feed the

global population. There are several types of fertilizer. Ammonium sulphate and urea are some

commonly used fertilizers. However, yields arent the only thing farmers need to worry about.

These fertilizers can be very detrimental to the environment; they can contaminate groundwater.

This affects everybody because the pollution contaminates their drinking water. It then hurts the

plants and the animals that drink the water and eat the plants; its a slippery slope. If you didnt

already know, there are definitely better times of the year to use fertilizer than other times of the

year. Urea (a fertilizer), for example, produces the best crop when the moisture content is low.

Also, if youre a farmer, you should be rotating crops to provide nitrogen in the soil in a more

natural, less harmful, way. While some people think that fertilizer needs to stop being used

altogether, I believe that we need to continue using and improving fertilizer so that it will be less

harmful to the environment. If knowledgeable farmers become more informed on fertilizer use,

then that will also prove beneficial for our world.

If you are a farmer, then you already know that fertilizer is a necessity. But, there are

definitely some things that may make some people feel strained at the thought of using synthetic

fertilizer because of all of the negative effects of using it. First, the production and use of
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fertilizer can be hazardous to people. A person working directly with fertilizer has to be

extremely careful so as to not overly expose themselves to the fertilizer. Using synthetic fertilizer

also can make land less fertile; the chemicals in fertilizer deplete the land of its organic matter,

ultimately decreasing the quality of the soil. Many fertilizers are nitrogen based, but the main

components of fertilizer include phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium compounds. This is good

because plants do not receive all of the nitrogen they need naturally. Both ammonium sulphate

and urea are nitrogen-based fertilizers. But, it has come to light that an excess of nitrogen has

shown to be a bad thing; another reason that fertilizer can be hazardous is the fact that it

contaminates groundwater. Known as nitrogen leaching, it happens when the nitrogen that has

already dissolved in water leaves the root zone, leaching into groundwater or other types of fresh

water, like lakes or streams. This affects not only the people that drink that water, but also plant

and animal life in and around this water. Fertilizer is also susceptible to runoff, which also leads

to the contamination of running water. Fertilizer has a negative impact on the atmosphere; the

more nitrogen fertilizer that is used, the more nitrogen emissions are produced. These factors

definitely makes a person stop and think, What in the world should I be doing to fertilize my

land?

These are all very valid concerns and cannot be ignored. One thing to do may be to use

more organic fertilizers in place of synthetic fertilizers. Organic fertilizer allows food to be

grown with more nutrients than food grown with inorganic fertilizer; this is because there are

fewer chemicals in organic fertilizer. Sadly, this cannot be the solution. In the world we live in

today, we cannot afford to stop using synthetic fertilizers. Currently, synthetic fertilizer is being

used everywhere: all over the world. Without it, a good majority of the people living on this

earth would not survive; there wouldnt be enough food being produced for the number of people
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living on this earth. The human population is over seven billion people; something needs to be

used to increase crop yields. Thats where synthetic fertilizer comes in. Fertilizer helps plants

grow faster and stronger by helping balance out the soils chemical composition. I believe that

the best way to decrease the amount of nitrogen leaching into groundwater and into the

atmosphere is to decrease the amount used to fertilize crops and only fertilize as needed. I agree

that there are still many issues that need to be addressed pertaining to fertilizers, but synthetic

fertilizers are not going anywhere. The only thing to do now is make a decision on what type of

synthetic fertilizer is best to use.

According to Made How, Such things that are being investigated to make fertilizers

more environmentally friendly are improved methods of application, supplying fertilizer in a

form which is less susceptible to runoff, and making more concentrated mixtures. If people

become informed on the best method of applying fertilizer and best type of fertilizer, then this

could greatly help our environment. Also, rotating crops would help cropland not become so

depleted in nutrients caused by synthetic fertilizer use.

Dakota Gasification started the construction of a urea fertilizer plant at Great Plains

Synfuels Plant in Beulah, ND in July 2014: Urea has the highest nitrogen content of all solid

fertilizers, but costs less to handle, store and transport than other nitrogen-based fertilizers. It is

also safer to transport and handle than anhydrous ammonia (Basin Electric Paragraph 3). This

source suggests that urea might be a better fertilizer than an ammonium fertilizer. These are all

very important factors when deciding on a fertilizer, but is urea a superior fertilizer overall? Or is

another fertilizer superior to urea?

In my research, I have found that maybe one fertilizer is not better than another. Joan

Norton, M.A., licensed psychotherapist, has worked with ammonium sulphate. She believes that
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ammonium sulphate is best for a lawn fertilizer, but it has some drawbacks, such as making your

soil acidic: Overly acidic soil reduces the activity of beneficial microorganisms in the soil,

which break down organic matter and create nitrogen in natural processes (Paragraph 4). But,

ammonium sulphate can be blended with other nitrogen fertilizers to make a stable, dry lawn

fertilizer (Paragraph 5). This relates to safety; the most important thing in any environment

(and life) is safety. Gardner Mike Usry, founder of Southland Organics (company that sells

organic fertilizer for plants), claims that [rapid lush green growth] actually causes harm to

plants and animals in a number of ways (Paragraph 7). Usry believes synthetic fertilizer is bad

because ammonia is very harmful to humans. But, Usrys assertion that fertilizer is harmful does

not fit the facts completely; yes, if fertilizer is misused, it is definitely harmful. But, if fertilizer

is kept in the right conditions and handled correctly, it is safe enough to use. Of course, keep the

fertilizer away from small children and pets, as you would any other thing that is not meant for

children and pets.

Now that weve addressed people-safety, we can address environmental-safety. These

fertilizers are nitrogen-based. This is good because plants need nitrogen. But, most of the

nitrogen in the fertilizer is not being used by the plants. Depending on the time, type, and

frequency of fertilizer application, the nitrogen in the fertilizer can cause damage to the soil and

the surrounding area. Many farmers in our part of the country intentionally over-fertilize their

land in the fall; they do this because during the winter, snow accumulates over the land. By the

time spring comes around, most of the fertilizer is washed away. Usry also does not like that

ammonia contains an excessive amount of nitrogen: Nitrate dissolves very easily in water. But

the real clincher is that it is EXTREMELY difficult to remove from water. So, the excess nitrate

gets washed away. But according to Norton, an excess of nitrogen can be avoided by testing
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your soil pH regularly; problem solved? Not exactly. Usry clearly doesnt like synthetic fertilizer

at all. Though Usry is a little dramatic in his writing, he still has a point; nitrate gets washed

away because farmers intentionally over-fertilize. As long as ammonium nitrate (or any other

fertilizer) is handled correctly and not overused, it is okay to have it as a fertilizer. This is why

farmers should apply fertilizer only when it is needed. Another approach to decrease the amount

of nitrogen could be using ammonium sulphate instead of ammonium nitrate. Norton informs us

that [a]mmonium sulfate can be stored for longer periods and is not as highly explosive as

ammonium nitrate. It contains 24 percent sulfur, which is one of the nutrients plants need

(Paragraph 5). An application of ammonium sulphate fertilizer lasts longer than an application of

ammonium nitrate fertilizer because ammonium sulphate dissolves in water much slower. So

between these two, the better choice for the environment, (and your pocketbook), may be

ammonium sulphate. Usry also mentioned that fertilizer is very unsafe if it contaminates running

water. Lynn Cochran (gardner, professional writer, and contributing author to Gardening

California [website]) advises to not over-apply fertilizers and restrict their use near running water

because [n]itrogen pollution greatly imbalances aquatic ecosystems (Paragraph 5). It is

important to think about all of these factors when buying and applying fertilizer.

Urea is making its way to the top in the fertilizer industry. Back in 1970, Doctor J.M.

Gosnell analyzed the results of an experiment comparing ureas and ammonium sulphates

effects on sugarcane. Du Toit found very little to no difference between the crop yields: In a

comprehensive review, du Toit (1967) concluded that in the majority of countries, little or no

difference had been found between the two carriers, but that sulphate of ammonia produced

higher yields of cane than urea on a number of occasions (Gosnell). Gosnell also states that

[f]rom these results it is apparent that urea has resulted in consistently higher sucrose % cane
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(significant in three instances) with somewhat lower cane yields (significant in two cases) to give

virtually identical yields of sucrose per acre. This evidence supports the claims in Curtis J.

Overdahls, George W. Rehms, and Harvey L. Meridiths article Fertilizer Urea (University

of Minnesota extension); they believe that there is a certain time of year that is best to use urea:

Applications of urea-ammonium nitrate (UAN) in the fall are not recommended due to rapid

nitrification and a high potential for loss. The evidence suggests that urea is a great fertilizer,

just not when moisture content is high. This also links back to Usry and farmers; its best to use

nitrogen fertilizers as you need them when there is less moisture/no (running) water.

Fertilizer also has an impact on our atmosphere. Leilei Ruan, Ajay K. Bhardwaj, Stephen

K. Hamilton, and G. Philip Robertson, from Michigan State University, conducted a study on

ecology; they talk about how Nitrogen fertilizers increase the greenhouse gas contributions of

biofuel production. Biofuels are fuels made from living matter. Biofuels include ethanol and

biodiesel, which are both used as forms of fuel (ethanol for cars and biodiesel instead of diesel

fuel). These people display their results from a three-year experiment that

investigate[d] direct and indirect N2O emissions, CH4 uptake, leaching, soil

organic carbon (SOC) accumulation, and biomass production in recently

established switchgrass under eight different N fertilizer rates. Our analysis

allows an evaluation of the impact of N fertilization on the net GHG [greenhouse

gas] balance of switchgrass grown as a cellulosic biofuel feedstock. (Paragraph 5)

In their experiment, they found that the more nitrogen fertilizer used, the more nitrogen

emissions are produced. They found that it would be advantageous to limit the use of nitrogen

fertilizers (AKA use as little as possible) so as to reduce nitrogen pollution of ground- and

surface waters and [lower] the cost of biofuel crop production (Ruan, Bhardwaj, Hamilton, and
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Robertson Introduction). They also gave us proof that nitrogen leaching is a real problem; this

graph below shows that the nitrogen content in soil is increasing as fertilizer is used. A research

group at UND is trying to find solutions to help the

environment; Junhua Jiang and Ted Aulich are

trying to develop catalysts to speed up the process

of making fertilizer, decrease the cost of nitrogen

fertilizer production, and reduce energy

consumption. They developed a process using

(cheaper) syngas (synthetic gas made from coal

gasification [like at Great Plains Synfuels Plant], for example) instead of (more expensive) high-

purity hydrogen to produce nitrogen fertilizers. They found that this process was viable. The

EERC (Energy and Environmental Research Center: facility used for energy and environment

technologies development) is still looking to improve the electrolytic process for a better current

efficiency and decrease energy consumption. Anyone familiar with fertilizer should agree that

more work needs to be done to develop a fertilizer that is less detrimental to the environment.

In conclusion, there is no perfect fertilizer; they all have their own advantages and

disadvantages. The use of urea and ammonium sulphate respectively result in about the same

crop yields (Gosnell). Urea should not be applied when moisture content is high. Ammonium

sulphate is a better choice than ammonium nitrate. But, in the end, no matter what you choose,

they all contain nitrogen. Sometimes, too much nitrogen from fertilizer contaminates

groundwater and other water sources. People might think that this can be resolved by limiting the

amount of fertilizer used and testing the soils pH regularly so as to not over-fertilize; this would

be true if EVERYONE followed this practice. This is also not realistic: one section of land may
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have a different pH than another section. We cant go on using nitrogen fertilizers without

worries; it is affecting our ground environment and atmosphere in a very negative way. But on

the other hand, in the world we live in today, we cannot afford to stop using this fertilizer; there

are a lot of mouths to feed, and that number is always increasing. There has to be a happy

medium. Something needs to be done to help our environment. Farmers should rotate crops and

use fertilizer only as needed, no questions asked. The farmers also have to decide what type of

fertilizer is best to use at the time according to the moisture content of their soil. I cant spell it

out any clearer. After this happens, if there is still a problem with nitrogen pollution, then the

government may have to establish regulations on the use of nitrogen to reduce it. Thankfully,

scientists are continuing to look for better ways to improve fertilizers and their impact on the

environment. On a hopeful note, if someone discovers an efficient method to remove nitrogen

from water, we can end this debate and move on to another challenge.
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Works Cited

Curtis J. Overdahl, George W. Rehm and Harvey L. Meredith. "Fertilizer Urea." : Nitrogen :

Nutrient Management : Agriculture : University of Minnesota Extension. Web. 01 Nov.

2016

Cochran, Lynn. "Ammoniacal Nitrogen Fertilizer Vs. Urea Fertilizer." Home Guides. Web. 02

Nov. 2016.

"Fertilizer." Made How. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.

Gosnell, J. M. A Comparison of the Effects of Urea and Sulphate of Ammonia on Sugarcane

(1970): 200-03. Proceeding of The South African Sugar Technologists' Association. Web.

3 Nov. 2016.

Jiang, Junhua, and Ted Aulich. "JV Task-121 Electrochemical Synthesis of Nitrogen Fertilizers."

(Technical Report). 30 Nov. 2008. Web. 03 Nov. 2016.

Leilei Ruan, Ajay K. Bhardwaj, Stephen K. Hamilton, and G. Philip Robertson. "Nitrogen

Fertilization Challenges the Climate Benefit of Cellulosic Biofuels." IOPscience. IOP

Publishing, n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2016.

Norton, Joan. "Ammonium Sulfate As a Lawn Fertilizer." Home Guides. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.

"Urea." Dakota Gasification Company. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.

Usry, Mike. "Health Effects of Synthetic Fertilizer." Southland Organics. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.