Sequestration of nitrous oxide for nutrient recovery and product formation

Wei Wei, Lan Wu, Huu Hao Ngo, Wenshan Guo, Bing-Jie Ni

Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important greenhouse gas leading to global warming. For the purpose of achieving a clean and sustainable environment within this century, the adoption of technologies to mitigate the N2O emissions is warranted. Intensive management practices for N2O reduction have been implemented for decades. N2O generated from fuel production and biofuel combustion processes could reduce or even negate the global warming reduction by utilizing CO2 as commodities or reducing CO2 yields. In this chapter, the key biological N2O production pathways and the microbiomes involved are elucidated. The current N2O mitigation strategies are systematically summed up to assist future work regarding curbing N2O formation from various ecosystems. The impact of N2O on CO2-based biomaterials and biofuels is clarified, and the potential of nanotechnology for efficient nutrient recovery and N2O mitigation in both natural and industrial fields is discussed. The perspectives and the future challenges regarding the unrevealed N2O production pathways, the large-scale feasibility of current N2O mitigation approaches, and the potential strategies are then put forward with the aim to achieve high biofuel and biomaterial production efficiency while minimizing N2O emissions.

Keywords: N2O production mechanisms, N2O mitigation strategies, Nitrification and denitrification, Biofuel production, Nanomaterials.