Developing Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer to Improve Farming Production

As is known the researchers at Flinders College are investigating organic nitrogen plant fertilizer to bring nitrogen to the soil again without the demand for any chemicals.

The global agricultural market is encountering obstacles at present with the deteriorating health of the soil. To combat this, Australian investigators are studying the manufacture of a sustainable organic nitrogen fertilizer from cyanobacterial aquatic biomass, suitable for heavily degraded sites that rely on chemical fertilizers.

Professor Kirsten Heimann, Flinders University Associate Professor, clarified that many soils are degraded and coming to be much less productive. This challenges agriculture to create sufficient top-quality food to feed the continuously expanding populace, which is worsened by climatic instability threatening plant production.

Biofertiliser from cyanobacteria

Joining the Flinders research team, the US and European scientists are now evaluating the capability of a unique biofertilizer comprised of extremely fast-growing freshwater cyanobacterium Tolypothrix, capable of taking care of nitrogen from the atmosphere without demanding additional nitrogen fertilization. For this reason, the biomass is far cheaper to generate in contrast to alternate microalgal and macroalgal biofertilizers.

The research team has found that it is feasible to grow this type of non-toxic green algae in freshwater, along with in somewhat briny or industrial wastewater like coal-fired power stations; capturing biofuel might also be used to stabilize the production cost.

The research team has found that this form of non-toxic blue algae can be cultivated in freshwater and slightly saline or commercial wastewater such as coal-fired power plants. Recording biofuel may also be made use of to counter manufacturing expenses.

To create Tolypothrix biomass can be offset by generating biogas, a methane-rich gas for drying out the biomass to remove high-value health supplement phycocyanin, or creating carbon and nitrogen-rich liquid strong biofertilizers to remediate the soil infertility.

Enhancing organic dirt 

In a current paper in Chemosphere, Dr. Heimann and his affiliates discover Tolypothrix generation as a lasting solution to the concern of biological soil improvement, which, when incorporated with biogas or the spirulina-like nutritional powder, supplies, as stated by Dr. Heimann, a strong financial return for regional and remote farming areas.

Partner Professor Heimann commented that Australian dirt, particularly in the limited wheat belt in Western Australia, is structurally degraded, which can not relapse by applications of artificial fertilizers.

Professor Heimann continued by saying that to enhance dirt structures, organic carbon applications are needed to return the dirt’s ability to maintain a healthy and balanced dirt microbiome and to improve the dirt’s cation exchange of nutrients and water-holding ability.

The team clarified that conversion of pond-generated cyanobacterial biomass made on farming land might provide a sizeable in-situ resource of sustainable nitrogen-rich fertilizer, therefore also assisting the reduction of carbon emissions from chemical fertilizer production and transport.

Sustainable biofertilizer for an expanding populace

The UN approximates that the worldwide populace will reach 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion by 2050, and will hit 10.9 billion in 2100. As a result of predicted population growth, higher energy and food demands are estimated for the future.

These forecasts promote research into biofertilizer and biogas manufacture through sustainable energy generation, using organic waste material of regulated manufacturing of biomass like microalgae and multicellular cyanobacteria.

Researchers have formerly videotaped photosynthetic fixation of carbon dioxide by cyanobacteria of 100 to > 200 tons CO2ha − 1y − 1 under exterior cultivation problems in open fish ponds, raceway fish ponds, photobioreactors, and affixed development bioreactors.

Further studies indicate that in opposition to numerous cyanobacterial varieties, Tolypothrixsp, a freshwater cyanobacterium, is filamentous and creates aggregate that self-flocculate, making it exceptionally easy to harvest from suspension cultures, lowering dewatering expenses by as much as 90%.

Originally published by Innovation News Network.