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Haber-Bosch is only a partial solution, and only for nitrogen. It is a relatively neat solution, because the entire planet is enveloped in nitrogen, and methane

by Decade 10y ago

Haber-Bosch is only a partial solution, and only for nitrogen. It is a relatively neat solution, because the entire planet is enveloped in nitrogen, and methane is readily available, for now. Phosphorus and potassium are still problems. The primary sources for both are mines deep in the ground. We can't pull those out of the air. It looks like phosphorus is going to be a problem earlier,[0] so there are pilot programs to reclaim it from sewage. Those are going to have to scale up quickly. Eventually, potassium will also be a problem. Technology might solve the problem, but it is not a given. It will take investment and work. [0]https://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/does-peak-phosphorus-loom https://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/does-peak-phosp...

maxerickson 10y ago
It's apparently vaguely commercially viable to extract potassium from seawater right now, so it probably won't be a problem in the future. (I came across several mentions of it in the course of looking at the state of phosphorus extraction; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brine_mining#Potash https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brine_mining#Potash talks about mining it from the Dead Sea, but the Ocean concentration is apparently high enough to work) As far as hydrogen, if we can get energy prices down (solar looks poised to do this), there is plenty of hydrogen available anywhere there is water.
- Hupriene 10y ago
  I'd guess you'd get a boost in efficiency if brine mining were to be combined with desalinization, which also looks to be ramping up in the near future.
ArkyBeagle 10y ago
The article shows a timeline of 40 years - I'd think both those problems tractable in that span of time. I could be wrong, but my understanding is that more-modern farming methods like no-till leave more silage on the ground, greatly reducing the need for the addition of Ka and P. Bulk stock crops like corn are farmed with methods that are pretty effective at removing only the kernels and leaving the silage.

by Decade 10y ago

maxerickson 10y ago

It's apparently vaguely commercially viable to extract potassium from seawater right now, so it probably won't be a problem in the future. (I came across several mentions of it in the course of looking at the state of phosphorus extraction; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brine_mining#Potash https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brine_mining#Potash talks about mining it from the Dead Sea, but the Ocean concentration is apparently high enough to work) As far as hydrogen, if we can get energy prices down (solar looks poised to do this), there is plenty of hydrogen available anywhere there is water.

Hupriene 10y ago
I'd guess you'd get a boost in efficiency if brine mining were to be combined with desalinization, which also looks to be ramping up in the near future.

ArkyBeagle 10y ago

The article shows a timeline of 40 years - I'd think both those problems tractable in that span of time. I could be wrong, but my understanding is that more-modern farming methods like no-till leave more silage on the ground, greatly reducing the need for the addition of Ka and P. Bulk stock crops like corn are farmed with methods that are pretty effective at removing only the kernels and leaving the silage.