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Formation of the Natural Chilean Nitrate today present in the
Atacama Desert dates back to 200,000 years.
The Atacama Desert is the driest desert on earth with less than 2 mm of rainfall per year. There is no
soil on the surface of the Desert, nor any soil formation process, trace of life or biological life precursor,
to the point that for NASA it is similar to the inert surface
of Mars . The origin of the Natural Nitrate is supposed to be atmospheric.
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Natural Nitrate is obtained from the Caliche ore in the
Atacama Desert by mechanical and hydraulic processes,
where the sunlight plays an essential role as source of energy.
The caliche ore, a "nitrogenous rock" only
undergoes physical processing at low temperatures similar to those of the surrounding environment. During
processing, not even ion exchange takes place, which is unique among refined mineral fertilizers included
those used in organic agriculture. No liquid effluents leave the mining facilities. All solutions are recycled
and water is lost only to the atmosphere in the solar evaporation system, a very important component of the mining process.
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| The total energy input (mostly for rock crushing, ore conveying and evaporation) is 44GJ per ton of N of which 57%
comes from directly captured solar energy i.e. at 19 GJ per ton N total non renewable energy, its energy score
is much more favorable than for synthetic N fertilizer that consumes on average 40 GJ per ton N non-renewable energy.
There are plans for the near future the improve this energy balance even more. |
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Click here to see a picture slide show on natural nitrogen production process.
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Other usefull sites related to organic farming:
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