The Haber–Bosch process and synthetic fertiliser
This page delivers no verdict; it presents claims and evidence with their sources. No theory in science is absolute. Method
For everyone
In 1909 Haber succeeded in producing ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen, and in 1913 Bosch scaled the process up to industry. Fertilisers made this way now make possible the farming that feeds roughly half the world's population. The same chemist, Haber, also led the development of poison-gas weapons in the First World War.
For specialists
The reaction N₂ + 3H₂ ⇌ 2NH₃ is run over an iron catalyst at about 400–500 °C and 150–300 bar. The process uses about 1–2% of global energy consumption and, since the hydrogen mostly comes from natural gas, is a significant CO₂ source. Erisman and colleagues estimated that 20th-century population growth would not have been possible without it.
Claims
- Nitrogen fertilisers from the Haber–Bosch process sustain the food supply of roughly half the world's population.[1]
Evidence
Supporting
Global nitrogen-budget calculations estimated that in 2008 about 48% of people were fed by food produced with synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.[1]
Challenging
—
Positions
- Vaclav Smil
- Ammonia synthesis is the most important technical invention of the 20th century because it directly enabled world population growth.[2]
Connections
Sources
- Article (2008). How a century of ammonia synthesis changed the world. Nature Geoscience 1, 636–639DOI 10.1038/ngeo325archive
- Book (2001). Enriching the Earth: Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch, and the Transformation of World Food Production. MIT Press, Cambridge MA
Search the literature
Look for scholarly work on this topic in other indexes:
Cite this page
Athena contributors. (2026). The Haber–Bosch process and synthetic fertiliser. Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/haber-bosch/
@misc{athena_haber_bosch,
title = {The Haber–Bosch process and synthetic fertiliser},
author = {{Athena contributors}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/haber-bosch/}},
note = {Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Accessed: 2026-11-01}
}Added: September 27, 2026 · Last changed: September 27, 2026 · Page history