Researchers turn high-emissions waste into zero-carbon fertiliser

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🗞️ Driving the news: Researchers at the University of New South Wales have developed a method to produce urea fertilizer using waste CO₂ and nitrogen pollutants
• The process uses renewable electricity to drive an electrochemical reaction
• It bypasses the fossil fuel-intensive ammonia pathway traditionally used to make urea

🔭 The context: Urea feeds crops for over half the world’s population but is typically produced using coal or natural gas under high heat and pressure
• The new approach couples carbon dioxide with nitrate and nitrite pollutants from wastewater
• A copper-cobalt catalyst enhances carbon–nitrogen bonding efficiency, according to the study published in Nature Communications

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Fertilizer production is a major source of industrial emissions
• Converting waste CO₂ and agricultural runoff into urea could significantly cut fossil fuel use and industrial carbon output
• The technology also tackles water pollution while decarbonizing a critical agricultural input

⏭️ What’s next: Researchers aim to scale the system for industrial use, potentially targeting emissions from cement plants and agricultural waste streams

💬 One quote: “The vision is zero-carbon urea where we directly couple waste carbon dioxide with nitrogen pollutants using renewable electricity.” — Associate Professor Rahman Daiyan

📈 One stat: Australia imported 3.8 million tonnes of urea in 2024 due to limited domestic production

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