A team of international scientists led by NTU Singapore has devised a new ‘greener’ method to make a key compound in fertiliser, and that may pave the way to a more sustainable agricultural practice as global food demand rises.
A team of international scientists led by NTU Singapore has devised a new ‘greener’ method to make a key compound in fertiliser, and that may pave the way to a more sustainable agricultural practice as global food demand rises.
Devised by NTU researchers, the method produces a compound known as ‘urea’, which is a natural product found in the urine of mammals, and an essential compound for fertilisers that is mass-produced industrially to increase crop yields.
However, the current industrial method used to make urea is a costly, fossil fuel reliant, energy-intensive process that creates significant CO2 emissions, contributing to annual global energy use.
Read more at Nanyang Technological University
Image: (L-R) Members of the NTU research team include Professor Alex Yan from the NTU School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), Research fellow Lyu Chade, PhD student Carmen Lee, Research fellow Zhong LiXiang and Assoc Prof Li Shuzhou from MSE. (Credit: NTU Singapore)
