CleanTechnica•about 18 hours ago
Could Light Be Used To Drive Enzymes for Efficient Ammonia Production?
Key Takeaway
This research offers a potential future pathway for significantly decarbonizing and reducing the energy cost of industrial ammonia production through novel light-driven biochemical processes.
AI Summary
- •Ammonia production is a highly energy-intensive process, consuming 2% of global energy, making it a significant target for efficiency improvements.
- •New research explores using nanocrystal-nitrogenase biohybrids to harvest light for direct N₂ reduction, offering a potential pathway for more energy-efficient ammonia synthesis.
- •If successfully scaled, this technology could drastically reduce the energy footprint and operational costs of industrial ammonia production, impacting fertilizer markets and potentially creating demand for specialized light-harvesting industrial facilities.
Topics
emissionssolar
Article Content
Nanocrystal–Nitrogenase Biohybrids Harvest Light To Reduce N₂ Gas. Abundant High-Energy Electrons Are Essential. By Justin Daugherty, NLR Ammonia, a key part of nitrogen fertilizers, is central to sustaining global food production. However, its manufacture is also energy intensive: ammonia production requires 2% of global energy to meet global demand. Fifty ... [continued] The post Could Light Be Used To Drive Enzymes for Efficient Ammonia Production? appeared first on CleanTechnica .