#One of the most significant applications of green ammonia is in agriculture. Ammonia is a key ingredient in fertilizers

[priteshwemarketresearch]

Green Ammonia Market Statistics, Segment, Trends and Forecast to  2033

The Green Ammonia Market: A Sustainable Future for Agriculture and Energy

As the world pivots toward sustainable practices, the green ammonia market is gaining momentum as a crucial player in the transition to a low-carbon economy. But what exactly is green ammonia, and why is it so important? In this blog, we'll explore the green ammonia market, its applications, benefits, and the factors driving its growth.

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What is Green Ammonia?

Green ammonia is ammonia produced using renewable energy sources, primarily through the electrolysis of water to generate hydrogen, which is then combined with nitrogen from the air. This process eliminates carbon emissions, setting green ammonia apart from traditional ammonia production, which relies heavily on fossil fuels.

Applications of Green Ammonia

Agriculture

One of the most significant applications of green ammonia is in agriculture. Ammonia is a key ingredient in fertilizers, and its sustainable production can help reduce the carbon footprint of farming. By using green ammonia, farmers can produce food more sustainably, supporting global food security while minimizing environmental impact.

Energy Storage

Green ammonia can also serve as an effective energy carrier. It can be synthesized when there is surplus renewable energy and later converted back into hydrogen or directly used in fuel cells. This capability makes it an attractive option for balancing supply and demand in renewable energy systems.

Shipping Fuel

The maritime industry is under increasing pressure to reduce emissions. Green ammonia has emerged as a potential zero-emission fuel for ships, helping to decarbonize one of the most challenging sectors in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

Benefits of Green Ammonia

Environmental Impact

By eliminating carbon emissions during production, green ammonia significantly reduces the environmental impact associated with traditional ammonia. This aligns with global efforts to combat climate change and achieve sustainability goals.

Energy Security

Investing in green ammonia can enhance energy security. As countries strive to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, green ammonia offers a renewable alternative that can be produced locally, minimizing reliance on imported fuels.

Economic Opportunities

The growth of the green ammonia market presents numerous economic opportunities, including job creation in renewable energy sectors, research and development, and new supply chain dynamics. As demand increases, investments in infrastructure and technology will drive innovation.

Factors Driving the Growth of the Green Ammonia Market

Regulatory Support

Governments worldwide are implementing policies and incentives to promote the adoption of green technologies. These regulations often include subsidies for renewable energy production and carbon pricing mechanisms, making green ammonia more competitive.

Rising Demand for Sustainable Solutions

With consumers and businesses becoming increasingly aware of their environmental impact, the demand for sustainable solutions is on the rise. Green ammonia aligns with this trend, providing an eco-friendly alternative to traditional ammonia.

Advancements in Technology

Ongoing advancements in electrolysis and ammonia synthesis technologies are making the production of green ammonia more efficient and cost-effective. As these technologies mature, they will further enhance the viability of green ammonia in various applications.

Conclusion

The green ammonia market represents a promising avenue for sustainable development across agriculture, energy, and transportation sectors. As technology advances and regulatory support strengthens, green ammonia is poised to become a cornerstone of the global transition to a greener economy. Investing in this market not only contributes to environmental preservation but also opens up new economic opportunities for innovation and growth.

[annieboltonworld]

Juniper Publishers- Open Access Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources

Composting of Municipal Solid Waste Using Sericin Rich Wastewater from Silk Industry as an Additive

Authored by S Srikantaswamy

Abstract

Huge quantity of solid waste majorly comprising of organic wastes produced by various anthropogenic activities causes severe problems pertaining to environment and human life. Composting is considered as one of the well known practices for management of solid waste. It is gaining augmented consideration as an environmentally sound approach to manage organic waste especially in countries like India, where more than 50% of solid waste comprises of organic/green waste. Municipal Solid Waste Processing Site of Mysore City was chosen for the present study. Different Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) was selected for present work. Sericin rich waste water from silk industry was used as a source of additive. Organic additives were mixed at the rate of 10- 60% of OFMSW inputs. Samples collected from different experimental set up were oven dried (100 -105°C), ground and used for chemical analysis.

Physico-chemical parameters such as pH, moisture content, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, total nitrogen & potassium, C: N ratio, phosphate, and ammonia were analysed periodically and optimum pH was observed between 7-8 and the pH values are relatively on higher side of OFMSW blended for 40% of total day’s samples. Similarly moisture content in the range of 23.25 to 26.75- % was found as optimum for composting process. Physical parameters such as colour and odour were observed. The obtained results are in agreement with standards prescribed by Central Pollution Control Board for compost. Use of generally waste water, normal pollutant, sericin as additive in composting it can be one of the best eco friendly additive for solid waste management.

Keywords: Municipal Solid Waste (MSW); Compost; Additives; Sericin

Introduction

Increasing Solid waste generation and its management has been one of the key concerns for governing bodies around the world. Land filling is the only technique practiced majorly at present for solid waste disposal. However, most of the landfill sites are associated with numerous problems such open dumping, quick filling of landfills, availability of free land, causing severe environmental impacts like odor and pest problem, contamination by Leachate, health hazards to surrounding people etc. [1-3]. Yet another major concern with landfill sites is number of landfill sites are far lesser compared to actual amount of waste produced. Though there is an extensive interest on part of government and local bodies the disposal of MSW is major environmental problem which needs immediate thought as the existing disposal methods have failed to address the issue completely [4].

Organic component of solid waste majorly contributes to solid waste in common. Composting process for solid waste management in recent past has gained the attention of researchers and capitalists across the globe. This process has given rise to a concept of waste is money to entrepreneurs.

Not only does this process ministers the reduction of waste disposal to landfills but also generates "compost", a product beneficial to agriculture resulting in enhancement of soil fertility [5]. Composting is now considered as one of the best options for solid waste management [2]. Presence of soaring level of biodegradable organic matter, C: N ratio etc. makes municipal solid waste suitable for composting. Municipal Solid waste generally consists of domestic and commercial waste that adds up to relatively lesser amount of total solid waste quantum in developed countries [6]. Though organic solid waste disposal through composting is gaining popularity all over the world as one of the effective natural methods, exhaustive labor processes and excess time consumption has made feasibility of this method impractical. These drawbacks can be overcome with use of additives which enhances the process time. Under control conditions, the composting process generally takes lesser time depending upon type of material used as waste along with type of additives selected during the process. However, development in various technologies for composting in recent past has renewed interest in composting as one of the most feasible waste management techniques.

Co composting using additives is one such technique which has opened up opportunities in modern waste management segment. Various additives like various microorganisms, mineral nutrients, enzymes, organic compounds, industrial waste etc. enhanced the composting process due to raise in microbial action during composting [7]. Recent studies on fly ash, phosphogypsum, jaggery, lime, and polyethylene glycol on green waste composting showed additives significantly improved the composting process [8]. Studies on use of indigenous microorganisms as an additive resulted in enhancement of composting process and better quality compost [3]. Yet another study on biomass ash reutilization as an additive demonstrated that composting process and quality of finished compost was improved by ash addition [9]. Various researchers across the globe have studies the use of chemical and mineral additives for co-composting of solid waste [10-12]. All these previous studies have indicated that co composting using additives could enhance composting processes significantly.

Sericin rich waste water generally waste by product from silk industry was used as organic additive in present study. Though it is very valuable source of raw materials for many of the industrial sectors such as food, pharma, cosmatics etc it has been discarded as waste in silk industry resulting in pollution [7,13,14]. Recovery and reusing of sericin typically discarded by the textile industry continues to be a major challenge around the world which would minimize environmental issues with a high scientific and marketable value. It is one of the good sources of sugar and sugar as carbon source results in growth of microbes that fasten the composting process. Most of the sericin is detached during degumming process which is discarded as wastewater, resulting in enhanced treatment cost and related issues. However there have been numerous proposals for sericin recovery from silk industry waste water and reutilization for various biomedical and tissue engineering applications [7]. Despite remarkable applications of sericin in various other industries like pharmaceuticals, cosmatics etc. its application in management of MSW is still limited and has not been explored so far as additive in solid waste composting [9]. However so far no studies pertaining to its role as additive have been reported. This is first study reporting the role of coconut water as additive in co composting for best of our knowledge.

Materials and Methods

Study Area

Current work was carried out in Mysore City using municipal solid waste generated in the city. The municipal solid waste samples were collected from aerobic compost plant situated in Vidyaranyapuram, Mysore.

Collection and Processing of Composting Material

The segregated solid waste rich in organic matter collected from the MSW Site was used as raw material for composting.

Composting experiments were carried out at lab scale in 20litre cement pots. 5Kgs of organics fraction of MSW (OFMSW) was added to each pot. Coconut water which is used as organic additive was mixed at the rate of 10-60% of total municipal solid waste inputs respectively. The additives are mixed properly and temperature is monitored. Aeration is provided by mixing and turning the solid waste heaps on every 5th day. Excess water was drained out. Care was taken to minimize the external disturbance which would otherwise affect the process of composting. The compost samples were collected at different degradation stage from pots on 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th and 30th day. Thus obtained samples were oven dried at 100-105°C, ground to 2 mm particle size powder and stored until used for further analysis.

Analysis of Compost Samples

The finely ground, dried and powdered compost samples were analyzed for various physicochemical parameters such as pH, bulk density, conductivity, moisture content, organic carbon, C: N ratio, total nitrogen, potassium and phosphate. The pH of compost was determined in pH meter using deionized water with 1:10 w/v ratio of compost and water [15]. The organic carbon content of compost was estimated by combustion method [16,17]. Bulk density of composts was done by pycnometer method and calculated using the following formula [18,19].

Bulk density g / cm3 = Weight of sample in gram / Volume in sample in cm3

Electrical conductivity by instrument method (1:5 water extract) using conductivity meter, moisture content (%) by gravimetric method [20,21]. Phosphorous in the compost was determined through Olsen method, Total nitrogen by Kjeldahls method /phenol disulfonic acid method, total potassium by flame photometer (model no.) [22,23]. Total nitrogen in C/N ratio was calculated by adding the three forms determined (organic, nitrate and ammonium using standard procedures for analysis [24-26]. Heavy Metal Analysis was done using atomic absorption spectroscopy as per the protocol of Smith et al. [25] and Saha et al. [27].

Statistical Analysis

The data obtained from triplicates experiments were analyzed using Origin Pro Software, version 8 with average standard deviation of <5%. Graphical representation was statistically significant with error bars.

Results and Discussion

Processing of Raw Compost and Additive

The composting material used in the present study was segregated municipal solid waste from MSW Site of Mysore City which consisted of approximately 55% of organic matter. The sericin rich waste water procured from silk manufacturing industry was used as organic additive in the present study. It was mixed with balanced ratio of 10-60% of Organic fraction of MSW. The powdered finished additive aided compost samples are taken for physicochemical studies and heavy metal analysis.

Effect of Additives on Temperature During Composting

Continuous monitoring of temperature in different compost pots using thermometer was done during the composting period. The temperature variation in control and additive based composting was recorded and is represented in Figure 1. The temperature shot to 54°C from 28°C after a day. Thermophilic phase lasted for 13 days with maximum temperature reaching upto 66°C. Temperature of 66°C lasted for 3 days that helped in quick destruction of all the microbes and weed seeds present in the compost. After thermophilic phase a phase of decline in temperature was seen.

The early set up and prolonged period of thermophilic phase in sericin rich waste water treated compost could be accredited to the immediate supply of sugars by sericin rich waste water to the composting medium which improved the microbial growth in due course leading to development of metabolic heat. Our observations are comparable to many earlier studies on similar line [28,29]. This phase was followed by cooling phase where in temperature began to decline and evened out on 23rd day. After 23rd day temperature of compost was equal to that of ambient with no noteworthy changes. Similar observations were made by studies carried out by Rynak et al. [30] & Hsu et al. [31] which reported that use additives in composting resulted early and extended duration of thermophilic phase that helps in speeding up the microbial metabolism leading to production of heat and killing of microbial mass resulting in better quality of finished compost. The existence of three phases during the composting stages showed that the pattern was distinctive to that exhibited by much different composting system.

Effect of Additives on pH During Composting

Figure 2 reveals the effect of additive on pH during composting process. The change in chemical composition leads to variation pH value during composting process. Formation of organic acids results in lower pH (less than 7) in the initial stage of composting which later rises above neutral because the formed acids are consumed and ammonium is produced [32]. Present study indicates that there is no much difference in pH pattern of control and additive based compost in different developmental phases. Bulk density is a measure of degradation of loosely arranged raw material into finer particles (Figure 3). Progressive increase in bulk density was observed in additive based composting and control compost. Current studies revealed range of bulk density to be 0.45 g/cm3 to 0.87 g/cm3 in additive based compost where as 0.46 to 0.78 g/cm3 in control compost suggesting the bulking effect of additive rather than degradation effect. The range of bulk density is well within the standard range of Indian Fertilizer Control Order, 1985. Similar observations were done by Himanem et al. (2009) and Jagdish et al. (2012) [7,8].

Effect of Additives on Electrical Conductance / Total Conductance During Composting

The electrical conductance (EC) of compost is mainly depending on the amount of the soluble salts like, sodium, potassium, chloride, nitrate, soluble sulphate, calcium and magnesium present in the compost [33]. The range of electrical conductance varied from 1.45 to 7.1 ds/m in additive based compost and 1 to 5.5 ds/m in control compost (Figure 4). The higher electrical conductance compared to recommended standards in control and test samples may be attributed to increased salt concentration due to organic matter degradation [34].

Moisture Content: Moisture content of compost is most vital environmental factor that transports nutrients for metabolic activities of microbes. With prolonged maturation, moisture content increased progressively. This might augment microbial and enzyme activity leading to rapid composting process [35,36]. In the present investigation, moisture content enhanced in the maturation phase of 15-25th day (Figure 5).

Organic Carbon: Organic carbon content in the present study decreased with increasing maturation stages of composting. This decrease in percentage organic carbon can be attributed to waste decomposition by microbes to larger extent and CO2 evolution partly [37,38]. In the present investigation, the total organic carbon percentage varied from 14.45 to 3.8 % and maximum reduction in TOC was observed on 25th day. In comparison to the recommended standards obtained values were well within the stipulated limits.

C:N Ratio: C:N ration signifies the stabilization and Organic matter decomposition during composting process and the present study of sericin rich waste water as additive on C:N ratio during composting process is presented in (Figure 5). There was significant reduction in C:N ratio during different maturation phase compared to control. C:N ratio of equal or less than 20 is considered as acceptable value for compost maturity [39]. Results obtained are well within the stipulated range of the recommended standard.

Analysis of Total Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphorous During Composting Process

Total Nitrogen: Organic and inorganic forms of nitrogen in compost comprises of total nitrogen. The total nitrogen content in the additive based compost ranges from 0.16 to 0.54% as shown in (Figure 6). This indicates enhanced rate of organic conversion of the compost. The incremental augmentation in total nitrogen content during the composting can be attributed to decrease in carbon substrate due to decomposition of organic matter [40].

Total Potassium: Potassium which is highly soluble in is one of the indispensable soil nutrients that helps in plant growth and. The insoluble potassium can be solubilised by the disintegration of waste. The concentration of potassium in different maturation stages increased during the composting period. Variation of potassium concentration in control compost and additive based compost is presented in (Figure 6).

Total Phosphorous: Total phosphorous is one of the well- known plant nutrients among nitrogen, Phosphorous and potassium which assist in growth of plants. The concentration of total phosphorus in present study ranges between 0.026 to 0.33 % which is well within the stipulated range of recommended standard (Figure 6). The steady increase in phosphorus content is seen with progression of maturation phases of compost and any decreases due to humification. Similar observations were also noted in some of the earlier studies [24].

Heavy Metal Analysis of the Compost: (Table 1): Heavy metal concentrations at different compost maturity phases, control MSW sample along with CPCB recommended standard for city compost. (Table 1): depicts the heavy metal concentrations at different maturity phases of additive aided composting along with control. The availability of heavy metals in all the maturity stages is well within the permissible limits of recommended standards by Central Pollution Control Board for the city compost. The concentration of heavy metals in additive based compost at different maturity levels were generally decreasing or below detectable limit suggesting compost toxicity to be low or negligible due to heavy metals presence which is also comparable to earlier studies by various researchers [7-9].

Conclusion

Use of Sericin rich wastewater from silk industry as an additive in municipal solid waste enhanced the composting process which in turn was reflected by early degradation of organic matter and enhanced the quality of finished compost. Present study paves way for reuse of sericin rich waste water, usually an environmental pollutant, resulting in management of industrial waste and controlling pollution by reutilization of wastewater from silk industry and providing novel composting technology for management of municipal solid waste. Study further points toward use of simple and economical procedure for solid waste composting. These results have projected scope for additive based composting as new strategy for solid waste management.

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Bioengineers Aim to Break Big Ag’s Addiction to Fertilizers

Designer microbes could replace the chemical fertilizers that contribute to climate change

Photo: GinkGo Bioworks

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Photo: Ginkgo Bioworks

Mutant Microbes: Joyn Bio is trying to reprogram bacteria to give them a very particular superpower: the ability to capture nitrogen from the air and give that essential nutrient to the roots of cereal plants such as corn, wheat, and rice.

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Algae 2.0

Big Ag is addicted to nitrogen fertilizers. It’s a massive problem for the global climate, yet it may yield to a microscopic solution: microbes rewired to “fix” nitrogen from the air and turn it into a natural type of fertilizer that corn, wheat, and other cereal crops can use.

Until the Green Revolution changed agriculture in the mid-20th century, farmers fed cereal crops either by spreading nitrogen-rich manure on their fields or by planting a legume crop (such as beans or peas) whose root systems contain microbes that naturally nab atmospheric nitrogen, and then plowing that crop under to fertilize the cereal crop they actually wanted to grow. But these inefficient methods couldn’t begin to support the 7 billion people alive today. The Green Revolution ushered in a new era of chemical fertilizers, enabling farmers to feed the booming global population—but also creating a dangerous addiction.

And so, every year, the world’s farmers lavish on their crops some 120 million metric tons of nitrogen fertilizer made via the century-old Haber-Bosch process. This industrial operation requires high pressure and temperature, so fertilizer factories burn a lot of fossil fuel, releasing carbon dioxide right away; later, the unused fertilizer in the soil returns to the air as nitrous oxide (N2O), a gas that has 300 times as much heat-trapping power as carbon dioxide. The combined emissions from fertilizer production and use are equivalent in their effect to as much as 1.3 billion metric tons of CO2 a year.

How to Feed a Plant

  Illustration: James Provost

Nature’s Way: In the root nodules of a bean plant [left], nitrogen-fixing bacteria use enzymes to convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia. The bacteria give that essential nutrient to the plant in exchange for carbon-based sugars.

Industry’s Way: In a fertilizer factory, the Haber-Bosch process combines atmospheric nitrogen with hydrogen from natural gas to produce ammonia. The reaction chamber requires temperatures of 400 °C (752 °F) or higher and pressures upwards of 20 megapascals (200 atmospheres). The factory uses a huge amount of electricity to maintain these conditions, and also emits CO2 as a by-product of the reaction.

Biologists have long sought a better, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly way to fix nitrogen. They’ve tried to make cereal crops form symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, as legumes do. They’ve tried to convince bacteria such as Azospirillum and Klebsiella to set up shop in the roots of wheat and rice plants. Yet, despite more than half a century of effort, no one has yet managed to endow any of the world’s major grains with a viable nitrogen-fixing bacterial partner.

Enter Joyn Bio, a Boston-based spinoff launched last September from two companies: Bayer CropScience, which boasts a vast library of agricultural microbes, and Ginkgo Bioworks, a pioneering biotech firm that creates custom-made bacteria for industrial applications.

Ginkgo’s Boston research hub is home to an assembly line of robots that are programmed to manufacture, read, or edit strands of DNA. Joyn’s idea is to synthesize variations on some of the genes that are believed to play a role in nitrogen fixation, including those involved in the cooperation between legumes and the bacteria specific to their root systems. Snippets of this synthetic DNA are then slotted by machines into microbes growing in rows of tiny fermentation chambers, before another set of automated tools characterizes the genetically altered microbes’ performance every which way. Synthesize, build, test, repeat.

Joyn is hoping this engineering approach to the fertilizer-replacement challenge—combined with computational power to integrate terabytes of data into predictive metabolic models—will make the company succeed where others have failed. “Our goal is to use all the tools of synthetic biology to take naturally occurring microbes that have evolved in plants, and see what we can do in the lab to create organisms that replace significant amounts of fertilizer for crop plants,” says Johan Kers, head of nitrogen-fixation research at the company. “If we can do that, we’ll have a big party.”

Photo: Ginkgo Bioworks

Assembly-Line Genetics: At the Ginkgo Bioworks lab, automated equipment inserts new DNA into microbes. The “organism engineers” who oversee the robots can therefore test many genetic variants at once.

They may have a lot of guests to invite. Joyn is structured like a scrappy startup, with fewer than 20 full-time employees split between research sites in Boston and West Sacramento, Calif. But as a joint venture between Bayer—which will become the world’s largest supplier of seeds and crop chemicals after its US $62.5 billion buyout of Monsanto—and Ginkgo, one of only a handful of private biotech companies valued at more than $1 billion, the spinoff has ample resources.

The lab space and microbial production capacity comes from Ginkgo, the bacterial strains and greenhouses from Bayer. The parent companies, together with a hedge fund, also put in $100 million to bankroll Joyn’s R&D operations over the next five years. “These things all came in on day one, so we’re really hitting the ground running,” says Joyn CEO Mike Miille.

Joyn has already sequenced the genomes of around 20 different bacterial species, all of which naturally take gaseous nitrogen from the air and use enzymes to convert it into ammonia, which plants use to make DNA, proteins, and other essential building blocks of life. Some of these critters use the same well-characterized enzymes found in the nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live in the root nodules of legume plants, differing only in that they don’t naturally share their biochemical bounty with crops. Others may use weird new enzymes that have yet to be discovered because no one has ever embarked on this kind of screen. “We’re sampling the solution space for this engineering problem,” Kers says.

Once Kers and his team close in on a few enzyme-encoding genes of interest, the next steps will largely be outsourced to Ginkgo’s foundries, so named to evoke metallurgic factories that manufacture metal parts to exacting specifications. At Ginkgo HQ, these foundries form a glass-encased core that expanded late last year and now spans the length of two football fields. There, software and robotics automate much of the drudge work of organism design.

That kind of process engineering and rapid prototyping is unparalleled in the biotech industry, says Paul Miller, chief scientific officer of Synlogic, a Boston-area company that’s partnering with Ginkgo to develop microbial therapeutics for diseases. “Ginkgo is really a world leader when it comes to a massively parallel engineering capability and the ability to iterate around organism-design ideas on a large scale,” Miller says.

For Joyn, the tight relationship with Ginkgo means it can build hundreds of engineered microbes with slight variations in one or more genes. Foundry scientists, called organism engineers, can test the performance of each microbe through chemical analyses on a mass spectrometer. Kers and his colleagues can study the data, input it into their model, and order a new batch of engineered bugs. Those that look promising are shipped off to West Sacramento for further evaluation alongside corn plants raised in greenhouses and, eventually, in the fields.

Photo: Ginkgo Bioworks

Growing Strong: Ginkgo’s organism engineers want to see which of the genetically altered bacteria strains are hale and hearty.

Boosters of synthetic biology think the design-build-test framework that has proven itself in Silicon Valley will also work in microbial engineering. “These are some of the smartest and most talented people in the business,” says Andrew Hessel, a biotechnologist who until recently worked as a researcher at Autodesk Life Sciences, which builds software for biological design. “People have been trying to hack this forever, and now they actually have the tools to do it for real.”

But nitrogen fixation is not merely an engineering challenge; it’s also an ecological one. “And boy, has it proven tricky,” warns Allen Good, a plant scientist at the University of Alberta, in Canada. “It’s one thing to take a piece of DNA and put it in bacteria and get it to fix nitrogen,” he says. “But to build a symbiotic relationship is so much more complex than that.”

In the root system of a bean plant, bacteria supply the plant with ammonia and receive sugar in return. Both sides profit—that’s the essence of symbiosis. But if you engineer a strain of bacteria to give ammonia away, you force it to incur a cost that nonengineered bacteria don’t shoulder. Naturally occurring microbes may therefore outcompete the engineered ones, eliminating them quickly. You could get around the problem by engineering symbiosis—by getting the plant to reciprocate—but that isn’t easy to do. Cereals and nitrogen fixers don’t play nice together. And, like a teacher trying to cajole a classroom full of selfish toddlers to share their toys, scientists have struggled to promote cooperation in the soil. “You really need to have a signal exchange between partners—between the plant and the microbe,” says Philip Poole, a plant microbiologist at the University of Oxford.

In addition to the scientific challenge of engineering microbes and plants, there’s also a societal one: Consumers are still distrustful of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in foods, and the designation brings additional regulatory scrutiny. There are, however, ways of using the tools of synthetic biology that tiptoe up to the GMO line without crossing it—for example, by mutating bugs at random and then selecting for the best ones. That’s the strategy of Pivot Bio, one of the few other companies developing nitrogen-fixing bugs. Pivot, based in Berkeley, Calif., starts with microbes that can naturally capture airborne nitrogen but fail to do so in agricultural settings. The company characterizes these critters with all the fanciest genomic tools available, building computational models to better understand gene circuitry, then tries to breed progeny that don’t have the feedback mechanisms that normally shut off nitrogen fixation in fertilizer-rich soils.

“My team has the best synthetic biologists in the world, and they can do the craziest transgenic things out there,” says Pivot’s CEO and founder, Karsten Temme. “But we’ve put on handcuffs and said we’re not going to build transgenic microbes because that’s not culturally acceptable, and it means you have to go through a regulatory process to get approvals.”

Photo: Ginkgo Bioworks

From Lab to Field: At the moment, Joyn Bio’s scientists are testing their altered bacteria in the Ginkgo lab. The most promising strains will soon be studied in the roots of corn plants growing in greenhouses and fields.

Not so Joyn. According to Brynne Stanton, head of metabolic engineering at the company, Joyn will use all the synthetic biology tools at its disposal. Only later, if Joyn succeeds in engineering a robust nitrogen-exchanging symbiosis with corn, will the company see if it’s possible to get to the same end products in a way that doesn’t get them slapped with a GMO label. “We are really starting with a blank slate,” says Stanton, as she sips from a can of coconut water that bears the words “non-GMO” on its label.

Illustration: MCKIBILLO

Smil Says…

Unfortunately, symbiosis does not come free; legumes pay a considerable price for sharing their photosynthetic products with bacteria.

Many leading experts, even some who work with Pivot, applaud this approach. “To be able to reach a product that’s not GMO—at this point, I don’t see how that would be possible,” says Jean-Michel Ané, who studies plant-microbe interactions at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and serves on Pivot’s scientific advisory board. In his academic research, Ané is coleading a $5.1 million project called Synthetic Symbioses, which is taking the genetic engineering strategy one step further: modifying DNA of both corn and a nitrogen-fixing microbe so they’re fully reliant on each other. Others, like Luis Rubio, a biochemist at the Technical University of Madrid, are trying to cut the microbe out of the equation entirely and simply engineer the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen into the plants themselves, which would then be self-fertilizing.

Whatever works, the initial commercial products from Joyn or its rivals will likely displace only small amounts of chemical fertilizer, maybe 10 to 20 percent, executives say. That modest reduction might help limit local impacts, such as air and water pollution, but “it wouldn’t make much of a dent in global N2O emissions unless combined with other nitrogen best-management practices,” says David Kanter, an environmental scientist at New York University who studies nitrogen pollution.

These companies have to start somewhere, though—and in Pivot’s case, that means deploying its nitrogen-producing microbes alongside traditional fertilizers in large-scale field testing taking place this growing season at farms across the U.S. corn belt. “Eventually,” says Pivot’s Temme, “we want to replace all the fertilizer.”

Miille, of Joyn, has equally lofty ambitions. “Nobody is sitting here saying this is easy. There are a whole bunch of things that are unpredictable,” he says. But, he adds, “this is really going to push the technical boundaries forward.” As his company’s organism engineers work through their design-build-test cycle, they just might find an unpredictable little microbe with big potential. n

This article appears in the June 2018 print issue as “Breaking Big Ag’s Fertilizer Addiction.”

Bioengineers Aim to Break Big Ag’s Addiction to Fertilizers syndicated from https://jiohowweb.blogspot.com

[persistence-market-research-blog]

Urea Strippers Market Progresses for Huge Profits During 2018 - 2028

Stripping is one of the most effective methods for heat recovery and reuse in the process. This concept offers significant advantages for recycling owing to its basic design and easy monitoring. In the recycling process of urea plant, factors such as, flow scheme; number of process equipment required, amount of water recycled in carbamate solution and; overall plant efficiency play a vital role. In a urea plant, a urea stripper’s function is to decompose carbamate into ammonia and, carbon dioxide from urea solution leaving the reactor.  The urea stripper operates under full system pressure and is configured in a way so that it provides maximum gas-liquid contact.

Chemical process industry generates demand for urea strippers as there is an extensive use of urea in end use applications like, agriculture, chemical industry, automobile systems, laboratory uses, medical uses and, other uses. The urea strippers market is highly competitive and includes both, large capacity manufacturers that provide services globally, as well as small & medium-sized manufacturers that have a more limited portfolio and offer services at a regional level. The urea strippers are constructed with materials which can withstand severe conditions thereby minimizing maintenance, expanding the life of the equipment and optimizing the plant operation conditions.

Reasons for Covering this Title

The market for urea is growing rapidly worldwide owing to its extensive use as a fertilizer and considerate use in other non-fertilizer applications such as in, urea-formaldehyde resins, melamine formaldehyde resins, and livestock feed among others. Urea is anticipated to be a locally driven market as it is mostly consumed in the countries where it is manufactured. The capacity expansion and supply demand scenario is anticipated to showcase the growth of urea strippers market.

According, to International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA), nearly, 60 new urea units came into stream between 2014 and 2018, of which 25 were located in China. Beyond 2016, all new urea capacity worldwide is anticipated to be located outside China, thereby, confirming the expansion of capacity to other countries. Global urea capacity would increase by 41 Mt between 2013 and 2018, to 245 Mt. This corresponds to a CAGR of 3%. East Asia is anticipated to contribute 36% of the net capacity increase, followed by Africa with 22% share and North America with 13% share.  Global urea supply is estimated at 182 Mt in 2013, 188 Mt in 2014 and 216 Mt in 2018, growing at a projected average annual rate of 4% over 2013.

Global Urea Strippers: Market Segmentation

On the basis of material of construction, the global Urea Strippers market has been segmented as:

Duplex stainless steel (SAFUREX)

Stainless steel

316L-UG

25Cr-22Ni-2Mo

Zirconium

Titanium

On the basis of capacity, the global Urea Strippers market has been segmented as:

<1000 MTPD

1000 – 1500 MTPD

1500 – 3500 MTPD

>3500 MTPD

Global Urea Strippers Market: Key Players

Examples of some of the key players operating in the global Urea Strippers market are Saipem S.p.A., Stamicarbon, TOYO India, Urea Casale, ALFA LAVAL, NIIK, thyssenkrupp, LARSEN & TOUBRO LIMITED, FLOWTRONIX, Isgec Heavy Engineering Ltd, Kay Iron Works (Jorian) Private Limited, FEECO International, Inc. among others

Key Developments

In February 2018, Stamicarbon, an innovation and licensed company of Maire Technimont Group, signed an agreement to construct green field urea melt plant of Brunei Fertilizer Industries SDB BDH, which is going to be located at Sungai Liang Industrial Park, Brunei Darussalam. The fertilizer complex will consist of urea plant with capacity 3900 MTPD

In March 2018, Toyo Engineering Corp. announced that it has received a contract for constructing large scale fertilizer complex in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. The fertilizer complex will consist of urea plant with capacity 2200 MTPD

Opportunities for Market Participants

World fertilizer production will continue to expand in the coming years. As a result, demand for urea strippers will grow at a significant pace so as to comply with the chemical process production and delivery assets safety guidelines listed by the concerned authorities. The agricultural fertilizer industry is poised for continuous growth. With the growing world population, a continuous demand is placed on fertilizer to boost the yields of crops, which in turn creates opportunities for the urea strippers market, globally.

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Brief Approach to Research

FMI will follow a modelling-based approach and triangulation methodology to estimate data covered in this report. A detailed market understanding and assessment of the nature, product type and end uses of the product segments covered in the study is followed by carrying out a demand-side approach to estimate the sales of target product segments, which is then cross-referenced with a supply-side assessment of value generated over a pre-defined period. The statistics and data are collected at a regional level and consolidated and synthesized at a global level to estimate the overall market sizes.

Key Data Points Covered in the Report

Some of the key data points covered in our report include:

An overview of the urea strippers market, including background and evolution

Macroeconomic factors affecting the urea strippers market and its potential

Market dynamics, such as drivers, challenges and trends

Detailed value chain analysis of the urea strippers market

Cost structure of the products and segments covered in the global urea strippers market

In-depth pricing analysis, by key product segments, regions and by major urea strippers market participants

Analysis of supply and demand, such as top product producing and consuming geographies, product imports/exports, exchange of services and overall trade scenario in the global urea strippers market

Analysis of the global urea strippers market structure, including a tier-wise categorization of key urea strippers market participants

Competitive landscape of the market, including detailed profiles of the top players in the urea strippers market

The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to market segments such as geographies, application, and industry.

The report covers exhaust analysis on:

Market Segments

Market Dynamics

Market Size

Supply & Demand

Current Trends/Issues/Challenges

Competition & Companies involved

Technology

Value Chain

Regional analysis includes:

North America (U.S., Canada)

Latin America (Mexico. Brazil)

Western Europe (Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain)

Eastern Europe (Poland, Russia)

Asia Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, Australia & New Zealand)

Japan

Middle East and Africa (GCC Countries, S. Africa, Northern Africa)

The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.

Report Highlights:

Detailed overview of parent market

Changing market dynamics in the industry

In-depth market segmentation

Historical, current, and projected market size in terms of volume and value

Recent industry trends and developments

Competitive landscape

Strategies of key players and products offered

Potential and niche segments, geographical regions exhibiting promising growth

A neutral perspective on market performance

Must-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprint

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