Cleaner fertiliser production
Laughing gas is not so funny. In fact, N2O, as it is scientifically called, is 310 times more aggressive on the climate than CO2.
Last year, Norway’s overall greenhouse gas emissions went down a little, almost entirely because emissions of laughing gas were reduced by as much as 90 percent. The mineral fertiliser manufacturer Yara can take much of the credit for this. The company has developed an almost magical little pellet (illustration). Yara’s pellet functions as a catalyst which helps separating nitrogen from oxygen.
Thus the emission of laughing gas from the production of artificial fertiliser is reduced by as much as 90 percent. The technology can be added to existing factories and Yara has already begun to use it in their factories in China. If all mineral fertiliser companies followed Yara’s leadership, worldwide emissions of greenhouse gases would be reduced by the equivalent of nearly 100 million tonnes of CO2. This is twice as much as Norway’s total emissions.
