Steve Gruhn

• Wind to NH3 - Sustainable Ammonia Fertilizer Production
  PPT: The food production industry has become reliant on the availability of inexpensive fertilizer that allows high yield, intensive farming. These fertilizers are made via the reaction of nitrogen and hydrogen to synthesize ammonia.  The source of hydrogen is petrochemicals.  Nitrate fertilizers are extremely effective in increasing yield and food supply would decrease by around a factor of two without fertilizer use.  Currently, food production rates are just sufficient to feed the current world population.  Additional pressures such as growing population, the need for bio-fuels and changing diet will place additional stresses on food provision.  However, ammonia synthesis is becoming increasingly expensive due to increasing gas and oil prices and the volume of fertilizer available decreases annually.   In view that there is very little uncultivated land on which crops can be grown, the relationship of fertilizer production to food security is critical. That is why highlighting the problem and the need to provide alternative methods to increase yields as well as novel ammonia synthesis technologies such as the use of wind power to create ammonia fertilizer.

Email:	sgruhn@freedomfertilizer.com
Telephone:	712.330.3114
Title/Business:	Freedom Fertilizer
Availability:	Year-round (call for specific dates)
Days of week:	All including weekends
Time of day:	Any including evenings
Will travel to:	Anywhere in the state of Iowa
Audio-Visual materials needed:	PPT projector and screen
Other comments:	Please contact me for availability $250 fee plus mileage