Sustainable production of ammonia fertilizers from biomass. (10th May 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gençer, Emre; Burniske, Gary R.; Doering, Otto C.; Tyner, Wallace E.; Agrawal, Rakesh; Delgass, W. Nicholas; Ejeta, Gebisa; McCann, Maureen C.; Carpita, Nicholas C.
• Is Part Of: Biofuels, bioproducts and biorefining. Volume 14:Number 4(2020)
• Page Start: 725
• Page End: 733
• Publication Date: 2020-05-10
• Subjects: Ammonia production -- lignocellulosic biomass -- sustainable agriculture -- techno‐enviro‐economic analysis; Biomass energy -- Periodicals; Biological products -- Periodicals; Fuel -- Refining -- Periodicals; 662.8805
• DOI: 10.1002/bbb.2101
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1932-104X

Abstract

Abstract: Nitrogen is the most limiting plant nutrient. Inexpensive natural gas has substantially reduced costs of ammonia fertilizer for intensive agriculture in the developed world, but its excessive use negatively impacts downstream ecosystems. By contrast, the availability of ammonia fertilizer is a major economic bottleneck for agriculture in developing countries. A dedicated lignocellulosic biomass crop could supply sufficient substrate to generate optimal nitrogen fertilizer on less than 5% of a grower's food crop acreage. Reimagining ammonia generation using biomass could significantly enhance sustainable agricultural productivity in developing countries when combined with emerging catalytic technologies. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd