Bioelectrocatalyzed Nitrogen Fixation under Standard Conditions

The synthesis of ammonia through nitrogen fixation is a vital component to all plant life and the world economy as a fertilizer and commodity chemical. The global industial production of ammonia exceeded 140MM tons in 2009 and is expected to grow to 160MM tons by 2020. Most ammonia,>90% is synthesized through the Haber-Bosch processThe Haber-Bosch process produces more than 90% of the industrial ammonia in the world and is energy intensive requiring high temperatures and pressures. Fulcrum Bioscience proposes to develop an electrosynthetic process to produce ammonia that uses electrocatalyzed biofilms of mutated cyanobacteria at 1 atm and 25°C. This process has been demonstrated at a laboratory-scale to increase ammonia production above basal rates.