NSF ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER FOR ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE AND DISTRIBUTED FERTILIZER PRODUCTION (CASFER) -THE NSF ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER FOR ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE AND DISTRIBUTED FERTILIZER PRODUCTION (CASFER) WILL STRIVE TO SOLVE ONE OF THE MOST PRESSING PROBLEMS FACING HUMANKIND: HOW DO WE FEED THE GROWING WORLD POPULATION WHILE PROTECTING AND SUSTAINING OUR ENVIRONMENT? BY 2050, THE WORLD POPULATION WILL EXCEED 10.5 BILLION, INCREASING THE DEMAND FOR FOOD BY 70%, WITH ONLY AN ADDITIONAL 10% LAND AVAILABLE FOR AGRICULTURE. TO MEET THIS DEMAND, NITROGEN-BASED FERTILIZERS (NBFS) ARE REQUIRED FOR THE FORMATION OF PLANT PROTEINS. CURRENTLY, MORE THAN 50% OF THE WORLD POPULATION IS SUPPORTED BY SYNTHETIC NBFS, PRODUCED VIA THE HABER-BOSCH PROCESS (HB) A CARBON INTENSIVE PROCESS, HOWEVER, THE HIGH VOLATILITY OF PRICES REMAINS A CHALLENGE IN THE US AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. FURTHERMORE, ONLY 20% OF NBFS PRODUCED TRANSLATE INTO FOOD WITH 80% LOST TO THE ENVIRONMENT CREATING SIGNIFICANT

Summary

NSF ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER FOR ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE AND DISTRIBUTED FERTILIZER PRODUCTION (CASFER) -THE NSF ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER FOR ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE AND DISTRIBUTED FERTILIZER PRODUCTION (CASFER) WILL STRIVE TO SOLVE ONE OF THE MOST PRESSING PROBLEMS FACING HUMANKIND: HOW DO WE FEED THE GROWING WORLD POPULATION WHILE PROTECTING AND SUSTAINING OUR ENVIRONMENT? BY 2050, THE WORLD POPULATION WILL EXCEED 10.5 BILLION, INCREASING THE DEMAND FOR FOOD BY 70%, WITH ONLY AN ADDITIONAL 10% LAND AVAILABLE FOR AGRICULTURE. TO MEET THIS DEMAND, NITROGEN-BASED FERTILIZERS (NBFS) ARE REQUIRED FOR THE FORMATION OF PLANT PROTEINS. CURRENTLY, MORE THAN 50% OF THE WORLD POPULATION IS SUPPORTED BY SYNTHETIC NBFS, PRODUCED VIA THE HABER-BOSCH PROCESS (HB) A CARBON INTENSIVE PROCESS, HOWEVER, THE HIGH VOLATILITY OF PRICES REMAINS A CHALLENGE IN THE US AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. FURTHERMORE, ONLY 20% OF NBFS PRODUCED TRANSLATE INTO FOOD WITH 80% LOST TO THE ENVIRONMENT CREATING SIGNIFICANT