2024
Bioconversion and bioaugmentation of Soybean meal for Sustainable Biofertilizer Production
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Contributor/Checkoff:
North Dakota Soybean Council
Category:
Industrial
Keywords:
(none assigned)
Parent Project:
This is the first year of this project.
Lead Principal Investigator:
Ademola Hammed, North Dakota State University
Co-Principal Investigators:
Project Code:
NDSC 2024 New Use 5
Contributing Organization (Checkoff):
North Dakota Soybean Council
$65,150
Institution Funded:
North Dakota State University
$65,150
Brief Project Summary:
Farmers depend on fertilizer containing ammonia to improve crop yield. However, ammonia production is challenged by huge energy demand, release of 2% global CO2 and political instability. As a bioproduct of soybean oil production, soybean meal is abundant, calling for the development of alternative uses for value added products like biological ammonia or biofertilizer. Researchers have developed a low energy process for conversion of soybean meal to biological ammonia. This project aims to improve the process. Objectives include developing an upscaled conversion of soy meal biological ammonia for fertilizer production; and developing an enhanced nitrogen/protein augmentation of soy meal biological ammonia for fertilizer production.
Key Beneficiaries:
#ag retailers, #engineers, #farmers, #scientists
Unique Keywords:
#ammonia, #fertilizer, #new uses, #soybean meal
Information And Results
Project Summary

First, farmers heavily depend on ammonia containing fertilizer to improve crop yield and
profitability. However, ammonia production is challenged by huge energy demand, release of
2% of global CO2 and political instability. A 25% nitrogen fertilizer produced by Russia is
currently off market due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and Russia has reduced gas supply
to Europe that further caused 60% reduction of nitrogen fertilizer production. Second, soybean
oil is used as the major feedstock for biodiesel and will increase with biodiesel production
upsurge in the United State. As a bioproduct of soybean oil production, soybean meal will
become abundant calling for the development of alternative use technologies for value added
products like biological ammonia (biofertilizer). We have developed a low energy process for
conversion of soybean meals to biological ammonia. The current research aims to upscale and
improve the process via stepwise or hybrid processing methods (bioconversion and
bioaugmentation). The bioconversion scale-up of our existing technology will focus on using
microbes to convert soybean meal to biological ammonia while the bioaugmentation will focus
on using different microbes to sequester air nitrogen to biological ammonia. We will use
synthetic biology techniques to bioengineer the microbes to enhance their nitrogen fixation
efficiencies and ability to use soybean meal as their food. The research outcomes will be a
sustainable processing technology (including process flow and conditions) that will add value
to soybean meal for biofertilizer production in form of biological ammonia.

Project Objectives

i. To develop an upscaled bioconversion of soy meal biological ammonia for biofertilizer
production.
ii. To develop an enhanced nitrogen/protein bioaugmentation of soy meal biological
ammonia for biofertilizer production.

Project Deliverables

i. Information on biological ammonia production during soybean meal bioprocessing.
ii. Knowledge of enzyme consortiums required to improve soybean meal bioprocessing.
iv. Information about potential new use of soybean meal for biofertilizer production.

Progress Of Work

Update:

View uploaded report Word file

Final Project Results

Benefit To Soybean Farmers

This research will make bioprocessing of soybean meals to biofertilizer feasible and make
soybean meals gain economic value. The biofertilizer will also benefit farmers to increase
their crop yield. Eventually soybean meals will be purchased and used by the industries.

The United Soybean Research Retention policy will display final reports with the project once completed but working files will be purged after three years. And financial information after seven years. All pertinent information is in the final report or if you want more information, please contact the project lead at your state soybean organization or principal investigator listed on the project.