ABSTRACT
People on earth are alive because functional and structural proteins in their bodies are made of nitrogen(N)derivedfromplantoranimalfood.AgreatproportionofthisNhasitsorigininfertilizersusedinmodernagriculturethatevolvedsignicantlyduringthegreenrevolution.TheinventionoftheNfertilizerwaspossibleduetothegreatestscienticcontributionofFritzHaber,who discoveredthemethodtoconvertnonreactiveatmosphericnitrogentoreactiveNintheformof ammonia (Smil 1997). This process has now signicantly in…uenced the global N balance and has placedagroecosystemsinaprecariouscondition,asfertilizerNissignicantlycontributingtopollutionofaquifers,accumulationofgreenhousegases(SternReview2006,Schlesinger2009),and depletion of the atmospheric ozone layer (Majumdar 2005). In addition, recent trends in the cost of fertilizers have led to a rise in the cost of food production.
