The Direct Synthesis of Ammonia

Abstract

The market for fertilizers in industrialized countries expanded greatly after 1900. Artificial nitrogen products, if they could be manufactured at the right cost, offered the potential for substantial profits from the agricultural sector. The interest in nitrogen capture was especially strong at BASF, the leading dye manufacturer at the turn of the century. This interest had to do with overcoming Germany's shortage of natural resources and its considerable dependence on imports from other countries. In the case of fixed nitrogen, there were concerns over not just British participation in the Chile saltpetre monopoly, and how long the supply of natural nitrate would last, but also external shocks such as economic and political events, including the outbreak of war. Moreover, nitrogen offered an opportunity for diversification at German firms away from dyes. To provide a clear picture of how BASF came to lead in nitrogen fixation developments in the early 1900s it is necessary to review the firm's rise to a leading place in the realm of science-based industry.