Fixing Nitrogen  

Jamais at WorldChanging recently had a post up on alternative methods of creating nitrogen based fertilisers that aren't based on oil or natural gas, which addresses one of the major problems the peak oil world has identified with the depletion of oil and gas.

The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia is the key to the making of fertilizer. The current method relies heavily upon petroleum as a feedstock for the process, and the prospect of declining oil supplies has left some people worried about the viability of fertilizer-based agriculture. As we mentioned recently, an alternative feedstock from algae is now being studied. Now researchers at the University of Oregon have come up with a method of fixing nitrogen that can be done at room temperature and pressure (unlike the traditional process) - potentially a more environmentally benign and simpler process than the current method.

As usual, this is an experimental process taking years to get to commercial application, if ever. But it's also a good sign that peak-oil fears of the collapse of agriculture are probably unwarranted -- to whatever degree industrial agriculture can't shift to a fertilizer-free organic process, there look to be multiple possible alternatives to oil-based fertilizer.

There are some good points in the comments section. First (quoting from Richard Heinberg's recent article) is that the natural gas based process can also be used (with some modifications) on coal, but there is also the caveat that relying on artifical fertilisers tends to result in a downward spiral of topsoil reduction and dependence on more fertiliser.

A couple of related posts are "Zero Waste, Perpetual Food" and "Biodiesel Bad ?" that both look at oil-independent agriculture.

How long it takes for these techniques and technologies to permeate the agricultural world is the key point I imagine - will depletion occur gradually enough for modern agriculture to adapt gracefully ?

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