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112-754: Most commercial agriculture is intensive in one or more ways. Forms that rely heavily on industrial methods are often called industrial agriculture , which is characterized by technologies designed to increase yield. Techniques include planting multiple crops per year, reducing the frequency of fallow years, improving cultivars , mechanised agriculture , controlled by increased and more detailed analysis of growing conditions, including weather, soil , water, weeds, and pests. Modern methods frequently involve increased use of non-biotic inputs, such as fertilizers , plant growth regulators, pesticides , and antibiotics for livestock. Intensive farms are widespread in developed nations and increasingly prevalent worldwide. Most of

224-455: A phytohormone involved in regulating stem growth via its effect on cell division. Photosynthate investment in the stem is reduced dramatically in shorter plants and nutrients become redirected to grain production, amplifying in particular the yield effect of chemical fertilizers. High-yielding varieties outperformed traditional varieties several fold and responded better to the addition of irrigation, pesticides, and fertilizers. Hybrid vigour

336-482: A pressure of 250 to 350 bar, a temperature of 450 to 550 °C and α iron are optimal. The catalyst ferrite (α-Fe) is produced in the reactor by the reduction of magnetite with hydrogen. The catalyst has its highest efficiency at temperatures of about 400 to 500 °C. Even though the catalyst greatly lowers the activation energy for the cleavage of the triple bond of the nitrogen molecule, high temperatures are still required for an appropriate reaction rate. At

448-407: A terrace is a leveled section of a hilly cultivated area, designed as a method of soil conservation to slow or prevent the rapid surface runoff of irrigation water. Often such land is formed into multiple terraces, giving a stepped appearance. The human landscapes of rice cultivation in terraces that follow the natural contours of the escarpments, like contour ploughing , are a classic feature of

560-526: A triple bond , which makes it relatively inert. Yield and efficiency are low, meaning that the ammonia must be extracted and the gases reprocessed for the reaction to proceed at an acceptable pace. This step is known as the ammonia synthesis loop: The gases (nitrogen and hydrogen) are passed over four beds of catalyst , with cooling between each pass to maintain a reasonable equilibrium constant . On each pass, only about 15% conversion occurs, but unreacted gases are recycled, and eventually conversion of 97%

672-479: A catalyst and pursued more efficient formation. This method is implemented in a small plant for ammonia synthesis in Japan. In 2019, Hosono's group found another catalyst, a novel perovskite oxynitride-hydride BaCeO 3− x N y H z , that works at lower temperature and without costly ruthenium. The major source of hydrogen is methane . Steam reforming of natural gas extracts hydrogen from methane in

784-469: A certain content in order not to reduce the partial pressure of the reactants too much. To remove the inert gas components, part of the gas is removed and the argon is separated in a gas separation plant . The extraction of pure argon from the circulating gas is carried out using the Linde process . Modern ammonia plants produce more than 3000 tons per day in one production line. The following diagram shows

896-508: A country and the rest of the world is called foreign or international trade , which consists of import trade and export trade, both being wholesale in general. Commerce not only includes trade as defined above, but also the auxiliary services or aids to trade and means that facilitate such trade. Auxiliary services aid trade by providing services which such as transportation , communication , warehousing , insurance , banking , credit financing to companies, advertising , packaging , and

1008-713: A country. International commerce can be regulated by bilateral treaties between countries. After the second world war and the rise of free trade among nations, multilateral arrangements such as the GATT and later the World Trade Organization became the principal systems regulating global commerce. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is another important organization which sets rules and resolves disputes in international commerce. Where national government bodies undertake commercial activity with or inside other states, this commercial activity may fall outside

1120-498: A general sense, business is the activity of earning money and making one's living through engaging in commerce. However, in a more specific sense, a business is an organization or activity for making a profit by providing goods and services which meet the needs of its customers or consumers. Business organizations typically operate in the primary (dealing with the extraction and sourcing of raw materials) and secondary (dealing with manufacturing intermediate or finished goods) sectors of

1232-477: A gradient of iron(II) ions, whereby these diffuse from the magnetite through the wüstite to the particle surface and precipitate there as iron nuclei. A high-activity novel catalyst based on this phenomenon was discovered in the 1980s at the Zhejiang University of Technology and commercialized by 2003. Pre-reduced, stabilized catalysts occupy a significant market share . They are delivered showing

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1344-406: A gradual increase in temperature. The reduction of fresh, fully oxidized catalyst or precursor to full production capacity takes four to ten days. The wüstite phase is reduced faster and at lower temperatures than the magnetite phase (Fe 3 O 4 ). After detailed kinetic, microscopic, and X-ray spectroscopic investigations it was shown that wüstite reacts first to metallic iron. This leads to

1456-404: A high-temperature and pressure tube inside a reformer with a nickel catalyst. Other fossil fuel sources include coal, heavy fuel oil and naphtha . Green hydrogen is produced without fossil fuels or carbon dioxide emissions from biomass , water electrolysis and thermochemical (solar or another heat source) water splitting. Starting with a natural gas ( CH 4 ) feedstock,

1568-402: A large recycle stream is required. This can lead to the accumulation of inerts in the gas. Nitrogen gas (N 2 ) is unreactive because the atoms are held together by triple bonds . The Haber process relies on catalysts that accelerate the scission of these bonds. Two opposing considerations are relevant: the equilibrium position and the reaction rate . At room temperature, the equilibrium

1680-543: A matter of months without it. Synthetic ammonia from the Haber process was used for the production of nitric acid , a precursor to the nitrates used in explosives. The original Haber–Bosch reaction chambers used osmium as the catalyst , but this was available in extremely small quantities. Haber noted that uranium was almost as effective and easier to obtain than osmium. In 1909, BASF researcher Alwin Mittasch discovered

1792-541: A more complete separation of ammonia has been proposed by absorption in metal halides , metal-organic frameworks or zeolites . Such a process is called an absorbent-enhanced Haber process or adsorbent-enhanced Haber–Bosch process . The steam reforming, shift conversion, carbon dioxide removal , and methanation steps each operate at absolute pressures of about 25 to 35 bar, while the ammonia synthesis loop operates at temperatures of 300–500 °C (572–932 °F) and pressures ranging from 60 to 180 bar depending upon

1904-577: A much less expensive iron-based catalyst that is still used. A major contributor to the discovery of this catalysis was Gerhard Ertl . The most popular catalysts are based on iron promoted with K 2 O , CaO , SiO 2 , and Al 2 O 3 . During the interwar years , alternative processes were developed, most notably the Casale process, the Claude process, and the Mont-Cenis process developed by

2016-605: A much more equal and controlled distribution pattern. Drip irrigation is the most expensive and least-used type, but delivers water to plant roots with minimal losses. Water catchment management measures include recharge pits, which capture rainwater and runoff and use it to recharge groundwater supplies. This helps in the replenishment of groundwater wells and eventually reduces soil erosion. Dammed rivers creating reservoirs store water for irrigation and other uses over large areas. Smaller areas sometimes use irrigation ponds or groundwater. In agriculture, systematic weed management

2128-472: A paddock, while allowing the others to recover. Resting grazed lands allows the vegetation to renew energy reserves, rebuild shoot systems, and deepen root systems, resulting in long-term maximum biomass production. Pasture systems alone can allow grazers to meet their energy requirements, but rotational grazing is especially effective because grazers thrive on the more tender younger plant stems. Parasites are also left behind to die off, minimizing or eliminating

2240-582: A reaction with hydrogen (H 2 ) using finely divided iron metal as a catalyst: N 2 + 3 H 2 ↽ − − ⇀ 2 NH 3 Δ H 298   K ∘ = − 92.28   kJ / mol {\displaystyle {\ce {N2 + 3H2 <=> 2NH3}}\qquad {\Delta H_{\mathrm {298~K} }^{\circ }=-92.28~{\ce {kJ/mol}}}} This reaction

2352-520: A regional or national scale, and the functioning of agro-ecosystems has been profoundly altered. Agricultural intensification includes a variety of factors, including the loss of landscape elements, increased farm and field sizes, and increase usage of insecticides and herbicides. The large scale of insecticides and herbicides lead to the rapid developing resistance among pests renders herbicides and insecticides increasingly ineffective. Agrochemicals have may be involved in colony collapse disorder , in which

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2464-484: A relatively small area of land, for example by rotational grazing , or sometimes as concentrated animal feeding operations . These methods increase the yields of food and fiber per unit land area compared to those of extensive animal husbandry ; concentrated feed is brought to seldom-moved animals, or, with rotational grazing, the animals are repeatedly moved to fresh forage. Agricultural development in Britain between

2576-481: A shell of wüstite , which in turn is surrounded by an outer shell of metallic iron. The catalyst maintains most of its bulk volume during the reduction, resulting in a highly porous high-surface-area material, which enhances its catalytic effectiveness. Minor components include calcium and aluminium oxides , which support the iron catalyst and help it maintain its surface area. These oxides of Ca, Al, K, and Si are unreactive to reduction by hydrogen. The production of

2688-461: A small space poses ethical issues to some consumers. Animal rights and animal welfare activists have charged that intensive animal rearing is cruel to animals. The Green Revolution transformed farming in many developing countries. It spread technologies that had already existed, but had not been widely used outside of industrialized nations. These technologies included "miracle seeds", pesticides, irrigation, and synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. In

2800-681: A wider variety of goods and services, and encourages innovation and competition for better products . On the other hand, commerce can worsen economic inequality by concentrating wealth (and power ) into the hands of a small number of individuals , and by prioritizing short-term profit over long-term sustainability and ethical , social , and environmental considerations, leading to environmental degradation , labor exploitation and disregard for consumer safety . Unregulated, it can lead to excessive consumption (generating undesirable waste ) and unsustainable exploitation of nature (causing resource depletion ). Harnessing commerce's benefits for

2912-481: Is a part of commerce and commerce is an aspect of business. Historian Peter Watson and Ramesh Manickam date the history of long-distance commerce from circa 150,000 years ago. In historic times, the introduction of currency as a standardized money facilitated the exchange of goods and services. Commerce was a costly endeavor in the antiquities because of the risky nature of transportation, which restricted it to local markets. Commerce then expanded along with

3024-531: Is a progressive, sustainable agriculture system such as zero waste agriculture or integrated multi-trophic aquaculture , which involves the interactions of multiple species. Elements of this integration can include: Industrial agriculture uses huge amounts of water , energy , and industrial chemicals , increasing pollution in the arable land , usable water , and atmosphere . Herbicides , insecticides , and fertilizers accumulate in ground and surface waters . Industrial agricultural practices are one of

3136-458: Is achieved. Due to the nature of the (typically multi-promoted magnetite ) catalyst used in the ammonia synthesis reaction, only low levels of oxygen-containing (especially CO, CO 2 and H 2 O) compounds can be tolerated in the hydrogen/nitrogen mixture. Relatively pure nitrogen can be obtained by air separation , but additional oxygen removal may be required. Because of relatively low single pass conversion rates (typically less than 20%),

3248-432: Is continuously cropped. Crop rotation also seeks to balance the nutrient demands of various crops to avoid soil nutrient depletion. A traditional component of crop rotation is the replenishment of nitrogen through the use of legumes and green manure in sequence with cereals and other crops. Crop rotation can also improve soil structure and fertility by alternating deep-rooted and shallow-rooted plants. A related technique

3360-890: Is evident in the equilibrium relationship: K = y NH 3 2 y H 2 3 y N 2 ϕ ^ NH 3 2 ϕ ^ H 2 3 ϕ ^ N 2 ( P ∘ P ) 2 , {\displaystyle K={\frac {y_{{\ce {NH3}}}^{2}}{y_{{\ce {H2}}}^{3}y_{{\ce {N2}}}}}{\frac {{\hat {\phi }}_{{\ce {NH3}}}^{2}}{{\hat {\phi }}_{{\ce {H2}}}^{3}{\hat {\phi }}_{{\ce {N2}}}}}\left({\frac {P^{\circ }}{P}}\right)^{2},} where ϕ ^ i {\displaystyle {\hat {\phi }}_{i}}

3472-404: Is expensive: pipes, valves, and reaction vessels need to be strong enough, and safety considerations affect operating at 20 MPa. Compressors take considerable energy, as work must be done on the (compressible) gas. Thus, the compromise used gives a single-pass yield of around 15%. While removing the ammonia from the system increases the reaction yield, this step is not used in practice, since

Intensive farming - Misplaced Pages Continue

3584-653: Is hostile to many species of weeds . As the only draft animal species which is comfortable in wetlands , the water buffalo is in widespread use in Asian rice paddies. A recent development in the intensive production of rice is the System of Rice Intensification . Developed in 1983 by the French Jesuit Father Henri de Laulanié in Madagascar , by 2013 the number of smallholder farmers using

3696-423: Is in favor of ammonia, but the reaction does not proceed at a detectable rate due to its high activation energy. Because the reaction is exothermic , the equilibrium constant decreases with increasing temperature following Le Châtelier's principle . It becomes unity at around 150–200 °C (302–392 °F). Above this temperature, the equilibrium quickly becomes unfavorable at atmospheric pressure, according to

3808-409: Is increased by the inclusion of cobalt. Ruthenium forms highly active catalysts. Allowing milder operating pressures and temperatures, Ru-based materials are referred to as second-generation catalysts. Such catalysts are prepared by the decomposition of triruthenium dodecacarbonyl on graphite . A drawback of activated-carbon-supported ruthenium-based catalysts is the methanation of the support in

3920-562: Is most often produced through gasification of carbon-containing material, mostly natural gas, but other potential carbon sources include coal, petroleum, peat, biomass, or waste. As of 2012, the global production of ammonia produced from natural gas using the steam reforming process was 72%, however in China as of 2022 natural gas and coal were responsible for 20% and 75% respectively. Hydrogen can also be produced from water and electricity using electrolysis : at one time, most of Europe's ammonia

4032-437: Is not concerned with the extraction of raw materials and the manufacturing of goods. Viewed in this way, commerce is a broader concept and an overall, all-encompassing aspect of business. Commerce provides the underlying large-scale transactional environment comprising all kinds of exchanges within which individual business organizations operate for generating profits. Commerce is distinguishable from trade as well. Trade

4144-412: Is obtained from finely ground iron powder, which is usually obtained by reduction of high-purity magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ). The pulverized iron is oxidized to give magnetite or wüstite (FeO, ferrous oxide) particles of a specific size. The magnetite (or wüstite) particles are then partially reduced, removing some of the oxygen . The resulting catalyst particles consist of a core of magnetite, encased in

4256-441: Is often increased, yields of any single crop often decrease. There are also challenges to farmers who rely on farming equipment optimized for monoculture , often resulting in increased labor inputs. Vertical farming is intensive crop production on a large scale in urban centers, in multi-story, artificially-lit structures, for the production of low-calorie foods like herbs, microgreens , and lettuce. An integrated farming system

4368-432: Is partially degraded to methane ; however, this can be mitigated by a special treatment of the carbon at 1500 °C, thus prolonging the catalyst lifetime. In addition, the finely dispersed carbon poses a risk of explosion. For these reasons and due to its low acidity , magnesium oxide has proven to be a good choice of carrier. Carriers with acidic properties extract electrons from ruthenium, make it less reactive, and have

4480-439: Is the fugacity coefficient of species i {\displaystyle i} , y i {\displaystyle y_{i}} is the mole fraction of the same species, P {\displaystyle P} is the reactor pressure, and P ∘ {\displaystyle P^{\circ }} is standard pressure, typically 1 bar (0.10 MPa). Economically, reactor pressurization

4592-554: Is the concentration of livestock in a given space. The aim is to provide maximum output at the lowest possible cost and with the greatest level of food safety. The term is often used pejoratively. CAFOs have dramatically increased the production of food from animal husbandry worldwide, both in terms of total food produced and efficiency. Food and water is delivered to the animals, and therapeutic use of antimicrobial agents, vitamin supplements, and growth hormones are often employed. Growth hormones are not used on chickens nor on any animal in

Intensive farming - Misplaced Pages Continue

4704-763: Is the improvement of pasture soils and grasses to increase the food production potential of livestock systems. It is commonly used to reverse pasture degradation , a process characterized by loss of forage and decreased animal carrying capacity which results from overgrazing , poor nutrient management , and lack of soil conservation . This degradation leads to poor pasture soils with decreased fertility and water availability and increased rates of erosion, compaction, and acidification . Degraded pastures have significantly lower productivity and higher carbon footprints compared to intensified pastures. Management practices which improve soil health and consequently grass productivity include irrigation , soil scarification, and

4816-408: Is the modern method to minimize pesticide use to more sustainable levels. There are concerns over the sustainability of industrial agriculture, and the environmental effects of fertilizers and pesticides, which has given rise to the organic movement and has built a market for sustainable intensive farming, as well as funding for the development of appropriate technology . Pasture intensification

4928-412: Is the transaction (buying and selling) of goods and services that makes a profit for the seller and satisfies the want or need of the buyer. When trade is carried out within a country, it is called home or domestic trade , which can be wholesale or retail . A wholesaler buys from the producer in bulk and sells to the retailer who then sells again to the final consumer in smaller quantities. Trade between

5040-406: Is thermodynamically favorable at room temperature, but the kinetics are prohibitively slow. At high temperatures at which catalysts are active enough that the reaction proceeds to equilibrium, the reaction is reactant-favored rather than product-favored. As a result, high pressures are needed to drive the reaction forward . The German chemists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch developed the process in

5152-492: Is to plant multi-species cover crops between commercial crops. This combines the advantages of intensive farming with continuous cover and polyculture . Crop irrigation accounts for 70% of the world's fresh water use. Flood irrigation , the oldest and most common type, is typically unevenly distributed, as parts of a field may receive excess water in order to deliver sufficient quantities to other parts. Overhead irrigation , using center-pivot or lateral-moving sprinklers, gives

5264-426: Is usually required, often performed by machines such as cultivators or liquid herbicide sprayers. Herbicides kill specific targets while leaving the crop relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often based on plant hormones . Weed control through herbicide is made more difficult when the weeds become resistant to the herbicide. Solutions include: In agriculture ,

5376-530: Is utilized in many important crops to greatly increase yields for farmers. However, the advantage is lost for the progeny of the F1 hybrids , meaning seeds for annual crops need to be purchased every season, thus increasing costs and profits for farmers. Crop rotation or crop sequencing is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same space in sequential seasons for benefits such as avoiding pathogen and pest buildup that occurs when one species

5488-538: The European Union ) or coalitions (like BRICS ) leading to its reconfiguration. The English-language word commerce has been derived from the Latin word commercium , from com ("together") and merx ("merchandise"). Despite many similarities (to the extent that they are sometimes used as synonyms in layman's terms and in other contexts), commerce, business and trade are distinct concepts. In

5600-427: The European Union . Undesirable behaviors often related to the stress of confinement led to a search for docile breeds (e.g., with natural dominant behaviors bred out), physical restraints to stop interaction, such as individual cages for chickens, or physical modification such as the debeaking of chickens to reduce the harm of fighting. The CAFO designation resulted from the 1972 U.S. Federal Clean Water Act , which

5712-546: The Friedrich Uhde Ingenieurbüro. Luigi Casale and Georges Claude proposed to increase the pressure of the synthesis loop to 80–100  MPa (800–1,000  bar ; 12,000–15,000  psi ), thereby increasing the single-pass ammonia conversion and making nearly complete liquefaction at ambient temperature feasible. Claude proposed to have three or four converters with liquefaction steps in series, thereby avoiding recycling. Most plants continue to use

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5824-478: The Industrial Revolution fundamentally reshaped commerce. In the post-colonial 20th century, free market principles gained ground, multinational corporations and consumer economies thrived in U.S.-led capitalist countries and free trade agreements (like GATT and WTO ) emerged, whereas communist economies encountered trade restrictions , limiting consumer choice . Furthermore, in

5936-548: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry : Haber in 1918 for ammonia synthesis specifically, and Bosch in 1931 for related contributions to high-pressure chemistry . During the 19th century, the demand rapidly increased for nitrates and ammonia for use as fertilizers, which supply plants with the nutrients they need to grow, and for industrial feedstocks. The main source was mining niter deposits and guano from tropical islands. At

6048-491: The Van 't Hoff equation . Lowering the temperature is unhelpful because the catalyst requires a temperature of at least 400 °C to be efficient. Increased pressure favors the forward reaction because 4 moles of reactant produce 2 moles of product, and the pressure used (15–25 MPa (150–250 bar; 2,200–3,600 psi)) alters the equilibrium concentrations to give a substantial ammonia yield. The reason for this

6160-979: The carbon balance is the use of integrated crop-livestock (ICL) and crop-livestock-forestry (ICLF) systems, which combine several ecosystems into one optimized agricultural framework. Correctly performed, such production systems are able to create synergies potentially providing benefits to pastures through optimal plant usage, improved feed and fattening rates, increased soil fertility and quality, intensified nutrient cycling , integrated pest control , and improved biodiversity . The introduction of certain legume crops to pastures can increase carbon accumulation and nitrogen fixation in soils, while their digestibility helps animal fattening and reduces methane emissions from enteric fermentation . ICLF systems yield beef cattle productivity up to ten times that of degraded pastures; additional crop production from maize , sorghum , and soybean harvests; and greatly reduced greenhouse gas balances due to forest carbon sequestration. In

6272-500: The iron group show such strong bonds. Further, the formation of surface nitrides makes, for example, chromium catalysts ineffective. Metals to the right of the iron group, in contrast, adsorb nitrogen too weakly for ammonia synthesis. Haber initially used catalysts based on osmium and uranium . Uranium reacts to its nitride during catalysis, while osmium oxide is rare. According to theoretical and practical studies, improvements over pure iron are limited. The activity of iron catalysts

6384-583: The waste disposal issue and requires that animal waste be stored in lagoons . These lagoons can be as large as 7.5 acres (30,000 m). Lagoons not protected with an impermeable liner can leak into groundwater under some conditions, as can runoff from manure used as fertilizer. A lagoon that burst in 1995 released 25 million gallons of nitrous sludge in North Carolina's New River . The spill allegedly killed eight to ten million fish. The large concentration of animals, animal waste, and dead animals in

6496-426: The 15th to the early 20th century, European colonial powers dominated global commerce on an unprecedented scale, giving rise to maritime trade empires with their powerful colonial trade companies (e.g., Dutch East India Company and British East India Company ) and ushering in an unprecedented global exchange (see Columbian exchange ). In the 19th century, modern banking and related international markets along with

6608-449: The 16th century and the mid-19th century saw a massive increase in agricultural productivity and net output. This in turn contributed to unprecedented population growth, freeing up a significant percentage of the workforce, and thereby helped enable the Industrial Revolution . Historians cited enclosure , mechanization , four-field crop rotation , and selective breeding as the most important innovations. Industrial agriculture arose in

6720-403: The 1970s, scientists created high-yielding varieties of maize, wheat , and rice. These have an increased nitrogen-absorbing potential compared to other varieties. Since cereals that absorbed extra nitrogen would typically lodge (fall over) before harvest, semi-dwarfing genes were bred into their genomes. Norin 10 wheat , a variety developed by Orville Vogel from Japanese dwarf wheat varieties,

6832-564: The Haber process at a laboratory scale. They demonstrated their process in the summer of 1909 by producing ammonia from the air, drop by drop, at the rate of about 125 mL (4 US fl oz) per hour. The process was purchased by the German chemical company BASF , which assigned Carl Bosch the task of scaling up Haber's tabletop machine to industrial scale. He succeeded in 1910. Haber and Bosch were later awarded Nobel Prizes, in 1918 and 1931 respectively, for their work in overcoming

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6944-453: The Haber–Bosch process. Many metals were tested as catalysts. The requirement for suitability is the dissociative adsorption of nitrogen (i. e. the nitrogen molecule must be split into nitrogen atoms upon adsorption). If the binding of the nitrogen is too strong, the catalyst is blocked and the catalytic ability is reduced (self-poisoning). The elements in the periodic table to the left of

7056-591: The Industrial Revolution. By the early 19th century, agricultural techniques, implements, seed stocks, and cultivars had so improved that yield per land unit was many times that seen in the Middle Ages . The first phase involved a continuing process of mechanization. Horse-drawn machinery such as the McCormick reaper revolutionized harvesting, while inventions such as the cotton gin reduced

7168-586: The Philippines. They are also found in other rice-growing regions such as Piedmont (Italy), the Camargue (France), and the Artibonite Valley (Haiti). They can occur naturally along rivers or marshes , or can be constructed, even on hillsides. They require large water quantities for irrigation, much of it from flooding. It gives an environment favourable to the strain of rice being grown, and

7280-631: The Twelve Aprils grazing program for dairy production, developed by the USDA - SARE , forage crops for dairy herds are planted into a perennial pasture. Rotational grazing is a variety of foraging in which herds or flocks are regularly and systematically moved to fresh, rested grazing areas (sometimes called paddocks ) to maximize the quality and quantity of forage growth. It can be used with cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, and other animals. The herds graze one portion of pasture, or

7392-578: The application of lime , fertilizers, and pesticides . Depending on the productivity goals of the target agricultural system, more involved restoration projects can be undertaken to replace invasive and under-productive grasses with grass species that are better suited to the soil and climate conditions of the region. These intensified grass systems allow higher stocking rates with faster animal weight gain and reduced time to slaughter, resulting in more productive, carbon-efficient livestock systems. Another technique to optimize yield while maintaining

7504-425: The association with intensive agricultural farming practices. For example the infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) virus is causing significant economic loss for salmon farms. The ISA virus is an orthomyxovirus with two distinct clades, one European and one North American, that diverged before 1900 (Krossøy et al. 2001). This divergence suggests that an ancestral form of the virus was present in wild salmonids prior to

7616-446: The beginning of the 20th century these reserves were thought insufficient to satisfy future demands, and research into new potential sources of ammonia increased. Although atmospheric nitrogen (N 2 ) is abundant, comprising ~78% of the air, it is exceptionally stable and does not readily react with other chemicals. Haber, with his assistant Robert Le Rossignol , developed the high-pressure devices and catalysts needed to demonstrate

7728-433: The catalyst requires a particular melting process in which used raw materials must be free of catalyst poisons and the promoter aggregates must be evenly distributed in the magnetite melt. Rapid cooling of the magnetite, which has an initial temperature of about 3500 °C, produces the desired precursor. Unfortunately, the rapid cooling ultimately forms a catalyst of reduced abrasion resistance. Despite this disadvantage,

7840-404: The catalyst through recrystallization , especially in conjunction with high temperatures. The vapor pressure of the water in the gas mixture produced during catalyst formation is thus kept as low as possible, target values are below 3 gm . For this reason, the reduction is carried out at high gas exchange, low pressure, and low temperatures. The exothermic nature of the ammonia formation ensures

7952-667: The chemical and engineering problems of large-scale, continuous-flow, high-pressure technology. Ammonia was first manufactured using the Haber process on an industrial scale in 1913 in BASF's Oppau plant in Germany, reaching 20 tonnes/day in 1914. During World War I , the production of munitions required large amounts of nitrate. The Allied powers had access to large deposits of sodium nitrate in Chile (Chile saltpetre ) controlled by British companies. India had large supplies too, but it

8064-806: The cost of processing. During this same period, farmers began to use steam-powered threshers and tractors . In 1892, the first gasoline-powered tractor was successfully developed, and in 1923, the International Harvester Farmall tractor became the first all-purpose tractor, marking an inflection point in the replacement of draft animals with machines. Mechanical harvesters ( combines ), planters, transplanters, and other equipment were then developed, further revolutionizing agriculture. These inventions increased yields and allowed individual farmers to manage increasingly large farms. The identification of nitrogen , phosphorus , and potassium (NPK) as critical factors in plant growth led to

8176-416: The deterioration of agricultural land and even regenerate soil health and ecosystem services . These developments may fall in the category of organic farming , or the integration of organic and conventional agriculture. Pasture cropping involves planting grain crops directly into grassland without first applying herbicides. The perennial grasses form a living mulch understory to the grain crop, eliminating

8288-411: The economy and their goal is to sell raw materials or manufactured goods for profit. In the tertiary sector , businesses sell services for profit. Commerce, in contrast to the concept of business discussed above, deals with the movement and distribution of raw materials as well as finished or intermediate (but valuable) goods and services from the manufacturers to the end customers on a large scale. It

8400-712: The entire supply chain . Trade is the exchange of goods (including raw materials , intermediate and finished goods ) and services between buyers and sellers in return for an agreed-upon price at traditional (or online ) marketplaces . It is categorized into domestic trade , including retail and wholesale as well as local, regional, inter-regional and international/foreign trade (encompassing import , export and entrepôt/re-export trades). The exchange of currencies (in foreign exchange markets ), commodities (in commodity markets /exchanges) and securities and derivatives (in stock exchanges and financial markets ) in specialized exchange markets also falls under

8512-474: The first decade of the 20th century, and its improved efficiency over existing methods such as the Birkeland-Eyde and Frank-Caro processes was a major advancement in the industrial production of ammonia. The Haber process can be combined with steam reforming to produce ammonia with just three chemical inputs: water, natural gas, and atmospheric nitrogen. Both Haber and Bosch were eventually awarded

8624-587: The food supply . The discovery of vitamins and their role in nutrition , in the first two decades of the 20th century, led to vitamin supplements, which in the 1920s allowed some livestock to be raised indoors, reducing their exposure to adverse natural elements. Following World War II synthetic fertilizer use increased rapidly. The discovery of antibiotics and vaccines facilitated raising livestock by reducing diseases. Developments in logistics and refrigeration as well as processing technology made long-distance distribution feasible. Integrated pest management

8736-399: The fully developed pore structure, but have been oxidized again on the surface after manufacture and are therefore no longer pyrophoric . The reactivation of such pre-reduced catalysts requires only 30 to 40 hours instead of several days. In addition to the short start-up time, they have other advantages such as higher water resistance and lower weight. Many efforts have been made to improve

8848-540: The improvement of transportation systems over time. In the Middle Ages, long-distance and large-scale commerce was still limited within continents. Banking systems developed in medieval Europe, facilitating financial transactions across national boundaries. Markets became a feature of town life, and were regulated by town authorities. With the advent of the age of exploration and oceangoing ships, commerce took an international, trans-continental stature. Currently

8960-465: The individual members of bee colonies disappear. (Agricultural production is highly dependent on bees to pollinate many varieties of fruits and vegetables.) Intensive farming creates conditions for parasite growth and transmission that are vastly different from what parasites encounter in natural host populations, potentially altering selection on a variety of traits such as life-history traits and virulence. Some recent epidemic outbreaks have highlighted

9072-402: The industrially used reaction temperature of 450 to 550 °C an optimum between the decomposition of ammonia into the starting materials and the effectiveness of the catalyst is achieved. The formed ammonia is continuously removed from the system. The volume fraction of ammonia in the gas mixture is about 20%. The inert components, especially the noble gases such as argon , should not exceed

9184-406: The introduction of cage-cultured salmonids. As the virus spread from vertical transmission (parent to offspring). Intensive monoculture increases the risk of failures due to pests , adverse weather and disease. A study for the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment concluded that regarding industrial agriculture, there is a "negative relationship between the trend toward increasing farm size and

9296-700: The island of Bali and the Banaue Rice Terraces in Banaue, Ifugao , Philippines . In Peru , the Inca made use of otherwise unusable slopes by building drystone walls to create terraces known as Andéns . A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops . Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice-growing countries of east and southeast Asia , including Malaysia, China, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, India , and

9408-598: The main drivers of global warming , accounting for 14–28% of net greenhouse gas emissions . Many of the negative effects of industrial agriculture may emerge at some distance from fields and farms. Nitrogen compounds from the Midwest, for example, travel down the Mississippi to degrade coastal fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico, causing so-called oceanic dead zones . Many wild plant and animal species have become extinct on

9520-496: The manufacture of synthetic fertilizers , further increasing crop yields . In 1909, the Haber-Bosch method to synthesize ammonium nitrate was first demonstrated. NPK fertilizers stimulated the first concerns about industrial agriculture, due to concerns that they came with side effects such as soil compaction , soil erosion , and declines in overall soil fertility , along with health concerns about toxic chemicals entering

9632-565: The meat, dairy products , eggs , fruits, and vegetables available in supermarkets are produced by such farms. Some intensive farms can use sustainable methods , although this typically necessitates higher inputs of labor or lower yields. Sustainably increasing agricultural productivity , especially on smallholdings , is an important way to decrease the amount of land needed for farming and slow and reverse environmental degradation caused by processes such as deforestation . Intensive animal farming involves large numbers of animals raised on

9744-438: The method of rapid cooling is often employed. The reduction of the precursor magnetite to α-iron is carried out directly in the production plant with synthesis gas . The reduction of the magnetite proceeds via the formation of wüstite (FeO) so that particles with a core of magnetite become surrounded by a shell of wüstite. The further reduction of magnetite and wüstite leads to the formation of α-iron, which forms together with

9856-574: The method used. The resulting ammonia must then be separated from the residual hydrogen and nitrogen at temperatures of −20 °C (−4 °F). The Haber–Bosch process relies on catalysts to accelerate N 2 hydrogenation. The catalysts are heterogeneous solids that interact with gaseous reagents. The catalyst typically consists of finely divided iron bound to an iron oxide carrier containing promoters possibly including aluminium oxide , potassium oxide , calcium oxide , potassium hydroxide, molybdenum, and magnesium oxide . The iron catalyst

9968-512: The mid-20th century, the adoption of standardized shipping containers facilitated seamless and efficient intermodal freight transport , leading to a surge in international trade. By the century's end, developing countries saw their share in world trade rise from a quarter to a third. 21st century commerce is increasingly technology-driven (see e-commerce ), globalized , intricately regulated , ethically responsible and sustainability -focused, with multilateral economic integrations (like

10080-559: The need for de-wormers. With the increased productivity of rotational systems, the animals may need less supplemental feed than in continuous grazing systems. Farmers can therefore increase stocking rates. Intensive livestock farming or "factory farming", is the process of raising livestock in confinement at high stocking density. " Concentrated animal feeding operations " (CAFO), or "intensive livestock operations", can hold large numbers (some up to hundreds of thousands) of cows, hogs, turkeys, or chickens, often indoors. The essence of such farms

10192-766: The need to plant cover crops after harvest . The pasture is intensively grazed both before and after grain production. This intensive system yields equivalent farmer profits (partly from increased livestock forage) while building new topsoil and sequestering up to 33 tons of CO 2 /ha/year. Biointensive agriculture focuses on maximizing efficiency such as per unit area, energy input and water input. Agroforestry combines agriculture and orchard/forestry technologies to create more integrated, diverse, productive, profitable, healthy and sustainable land-use systems. Intercropping can increase yields or reduce inputs and thus represents (potentially sustainable) agricultural intensification. However, while total yield per unit land area

10304-522: The original Haber process (20 MPa (200 bar; 2,900 psi) and 500 °C (932 °F)), albeit with improved single-pass conversion and lower energy consumption due to process and catalyst optimization. Combined with the energy needed to produce hydrogen and purified atmospheric nitrogen, ammonia production is energy-intensive, accounting for 1% to 2% of global energy consumption , 3% of global carbon emissions , and 3% to 5% of natural gas consumption. Hydrogen required for ammonia synthesis

10416-491: The presence of hydrogen. Their activity is strongly dependent on the catalyst carrier and the promoters. A wide range of substances can be used as carriers, including carbon , magnesium oxide , aluminium oxide , zeolites , spinels , and boron nitride . Ruthenium-activated carbon-based catalysts have been used industrially in the KBR Advanced Ammonia Process (KAAP) since 1992. The carbon carrier

10528-471: The promoters the outer shell. The involved processes are complex and depend on the reduction temperature: At lower temperatures, wüstite disproportionates into an iron phase and a magnetite phase; at higher temperatures, the reduction of the wüstite and magnetite to iron dominates. The α-iron forms primary crystallites with a diameter of about 30 nanometers. These crystallites form a bimodal pore system with pore diameters of about 10 nanometers (produced by

10640-577: The protection of the international rules which govern legal relationships between independent states: see, for example, the "commercial activity exception" applicable under the United States' Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976. Haber-Bosch The Haber process , also called the Haber–Bosch process , is the main industrial procedure for the production of ammonia . It converts atmospheric nitrogen (N 2 ) to ammonia (NH 3 ) by

10752-439: The reaction is exothermic , the equilibrium of the reaction shifts at lower temperatures to the ammonia side. Furthermore, four volumetric units of the raw materials produce two volumetric units of ammonia. According to Le Chatelier's principle , higher pressure favours ammonia. High pressure is necessary to ensure sufficient surface coverage of the catalyst with nitrogen. For this reason, a ratio of nitrogen to hydrogen of 1 to 3,

10864-403: The reduction of the magnetite phase) and of 25 to 50 nanometers (produced by the reduction of the wüstite phase). With the exception of cobalt oxide , the promoters are not reduced. During the reduction of the iron oxide with synthesis gas, water vapor is formed. This water vapor must be considered for high catalyst quality as contact with the finely divided iron would lead to premature aging of

10976-681: The reliability of international trans-oceanic shipping and mailing systems and the facility of the Internet has made commerce possible between cities, regions and countries situated anywhere in the world. In the 21st century, Internet-based electronic commerce (where financial information is transferred over Internet), and its subcategories such as wireless mobile commerce and social network -based social commerce have been and continue to get adopted widely. Legislative bodies and ministries or ministerial departments of commerce regulate, promote and manage domestic and foreign commercial activities within

11088-532: The right time, place, quantity, quality and price through various channels from the original producers to the final consumers within local, regional, national or international economies. The diversity in the distribution of natural resources , differences of human needs and wants , and division of labour along with comparative advantage are the principal factors that give rise to commercial exchanges. Commerce consists of trade and aids to trade (i.e. auxiliary commercial services) taking place along

11200-468: The services of commercial agents and agencies. In other words, commerce encompasses a wide array of political, economical, technological, logistical, legal, regulatory, social and cultural aspects of trade on a large scale. From a marketing perspective, commerce creates time and place utility by making goods and services available to the customers at the right place and at the right time by changing their location or placement. Described in this manner, trade

11312-405: The social conditions in rural communities" on a "statistical level". Agricultural monoculture can entail social and economic risks. Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered distribution and transfer of goods and services on a substantial scale and at

11424-566: The society while mitigating its drawbacks remains vital for policymakers , businesses and other stakeholders . Commerce traces its origins to ancient localized barter systems, leading to the establishment of periodic marketplaces, and culminating in the development of currencies for efficient trade. In medieval times, trade routes (like the Silk Road ) with pivotal commercial hubs (like Venice ) connected regions and continents, enabling long-distance trade and cultural exchange . From

11536-405: The steps are as follows; The hydrogen is catalytically reacted with nitrogen (derived from process air ) to form anhydrous liquid ammonia . It is difficult and expensive, as lower temperatures result in slower reaction kinetics (hence a slower reaction rate ) and high pressure requires high-strength pressure vessels that resist hydrogen embrittlement . Diatomic nitrogen is bound together by

11648-428: The synthesis gas mixture such as noble gases or methane are not strictly poisons, they accumulate through the recycling of the process gases and thus lower the partial pressure of the reactants, which in turn slows conversion. The reaction is: The reaction is an exothermic equilibrium reaction in which the gas volume is reduced. The equilibrium constant K eq of the reaction (see table) and obtained from: Since

11760-405: The system had grown to between 4 and 5 million. Aquaculture is the cultivation of the natural products of water ( fish , shellfish , algae , seaweed , and other aquatic organisms). Intensive aquaculture takes place on land using tanks, ponds, or other controlled systems, or in the ocean, using cages. Intensive farming practices which are thought to be sustainable have been developed to slow

11872-429: The temperature is too high; instead it is removed from the gases leaving the reaction vessel. The hot gases are cooled under high pressure, allowing the ammonia to condense and be removed as a liquid. Unreacted hydrogen and nitrogen gases are returned to the reaction vessel for another round. While most ammonia is removed (typically down to 2–5 mol.%), some ammonia remains in the recycle stream. In academic literature,

11984-1414: The umbrella of trade. On the other hand, auxiliary commercial activities (aids to trade) which can facilitate trade include commercial intermediaries , banking , credit financing and related services, transportation , packaging , warehousing , communication , advertising and insurance . Their purpose is to remove hindrances related to direct personal contact, payments , savings , funding , separation of place and time, product protection and preservation, knowledge and risk . The broader framework of commerce incorporates additional elements and factors such as laws and regulations (including intellectual property rights and antitrust laws ), policies , tariffs and trade barriers , consumers and consumer trends , producers and production strategies, supply chains and their management , financial transactions for ordinary and extraordinary business activities, market dynamics (including supply and demand ), technological innovation , competition and entrepreneurship , trade agreements , multinational corporations and small and medium-sized enterprisess (SMEs), and macroeconomic factors (like economic stability ). Commerce drives economic growth , development and prosperity , promotes regional and international interdependence , fosters cultural exchange , creates jobs , improves people's standard of living by giving them access to

12096-540: The undesirable effect of binding ammonia to the surface. Catalyst poisons lower catalyst activity. They are usually impurities in the synthesis gas . Permanent poisons cause irreversible loss of catalytic activity, while temporary poisons lower the activity while present. Sulfur compounds, phosphorus compounds, arsenic compounds, and chlorine compounds are permanent poisons. Oxygenic compounds like water, carbon monoxide , carbon dioxide , and oxygen are temporary poisons. Although chemically inert components of

12208-518: Was also controlled by the British. Moreover, even if German commercial interests had nominal legal control of such resources, the Allies controlled the sea lanes and imposed a highly effective blockade which would have prevented such supplies from reaching Germany. The Haber process proved so essential to the German war effort that it is considered virtually certain Germany would have been defeated in

12320-453: Was enacted to protect and restore lakes and rivers to a "fishable, swimmable" quality. The United States Environmental Protection Agency identified certain animal feeding operations, along with many other types of industry, as "point source" groundwater polluters. These operations were subjected to regulation. In 17 states in the U.S., isolated cases of groundwater contamination were linked to CAFOs. The U.S. federal government acknowledges

12432-713: Was instrumental in developing wheat cultivars. IR8 , the first widely implemented high-yielding rice to be developed by the International Rice Research Institute , was created through a cross between an Indonesian variety named "Peta" and a Chinese variety named "Dee Geo Woo Gen". With the availability of molecular genetics in Arabidopsis and rice the mutant genes responsible ( reduced height (rht) , gibberellin insensitive (gai1) and slender rice (slr1) ) have been cloned and identified as cellular signalling components of gibberellic acid ,

12544-462: Was produced from the Hydro plant at Vemork . Other possibilities include biological hydrogen production or photolysis , but at present, steam reforming of natural gas is the most economical means of mass-producing hydrogen. The choice of catalyst is important for synthesizing ammonia. In 2012, Hideo Hosono 's group found that Ru -loaded calcium-aluminum oxide C12A7: e electride works well as

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