Sustainable Biological Ammonia Production towards a Carbon-Free Society

Yukio Watanabe, Wataru Aoki and Mitsuyoshi Ueda
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Yukio Watanabe: Biotechnology Research Center, Department of Biotechnology, Toyama Prefectural University, Toyama 939-0398, Japan
Wataru Aoki: Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
Mitsuyoshi Ueda: Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 17, 1-13

Abstract: A sustainable society was proposed more than 50 years ago. However, it is yet to be realised. For example, the production of ammonia, an important chemical widely used in the agriculture, steel, chemical, textile, and pharmaceutical industries, still depends on fossil fuels. Recently, biological approaches to achieve sustainable ammonia production have been gaining attention. Moreover, unlike chemical methods, biological approaches have a lesser environmental impact because ammonia can be produced under mild conditions of normal temperature and pressure. Therefore, in previous studies, nitrogen fixation by nitrogenase, including enzymatic ammonia production using food waste, has been attempted. Additionally, the production of crops using nitrogen-fixing bacteria has been implemented in the industry as one of the most promising approaches to achieving a sustainable ammonia economy. Thus, in this review, we described previous studies on biological ammonia production and showed the prospects for realising a sustainable society.

Keywords: ammonia; sustainable carbon-free society; nitrogenase; metabolic engineering; cell surface engineering (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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