AMES, Iowa - An Iowa State University scientist and an Ames entrepreneur think they have a technology that could help keep nitrogen fertilizers on farm fields and away from waterways.
That could improve human health by keeping nitrates - which can affect how blood carries oxygen, especially in babies - away from sources of drinking water. It could improve fish and wildlife habitat by reducing oxygen-starved dead zones in water caused by nitrate-fed algae blooms. And it could improve farmers' budgets by reducing the amount of fertilizer they buy and apply.
Their technology is a stable, slow-release nitrogen fertilizer that feeds crops across an entire growing season. It is, as they say on their startup company's website, "Nitrogen Fertilizer Reformed by Science."
The co-founders and their company
The scientist: Santanu Bakshi is a principal scientist for Iowa State's Bioeconomy Institute, an adjunct assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering and co-founder, inventor and scientific advisor for the Ames-based startup.
The entrepreneur: Kyle Anderson grew up on a family farm near Grygla, Minnesota, studied agricultural economics at North Dakota State University, has worked in agriculture, has led high-tech startups and has led product strategy for Fortune 500 companies. He's been a volunteer mentor for an agricultural technology venture capital firm and the Venture Mentoring Service within Iowa State's Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship. He's the company's co-founder and CEO.
Their company: Reform Bio.
A key ingredient: Biochar.
Years of experiments, and a patent
Bakshi can give university lectures about biochar, the solid co-product of heating woody waste, corn stalks and other biomass to produce liquid bio-oil in a process called pyrolysis. The porous, carbon-rich char that's left behind has been used to enrich soil and studied for other agricultural uses.
Bakshi has worked with the black powder for more than a decade.
That, the company says, is a "biochar-powered advantage" that will deliver "proven results with scientific backing from ISU."
In one Iowa State study, for example, he learned biochar made from biomass pretreated with iron sulfate can adsorb - attract to the surface - up to 12 times more phosphate than untreated biomass. That could make it useful as a fertilizer.
Bakshi is listed as the first inventor (along with Iowa State's Robert C. Brown and Ryan Smith) on the resulting 2023 patent assigned to the Iowa State University Research Foundation for a "biochar product, its use in fertilizers, and methods of making the biochar product."
Now, for its initial product offering, Reform Bio is seeking to commercialize a method Bakshi discovered that creates a biochar-based, slow-release fertilizer for nitrogen, a common fertilizer for corn plants.
"Corn farmers have high concerns about the loss of nitrogen fertilizer," Bakshi said. "And this year, with a lot of rain, they've lost too much nitrogen."
Biochar-based, slow-release fertilizers could help.
"They meet plant needs," Bakshi said. "They also increase carbon content in soil, lower fertilizer input costs, improve water quality and reduce fish kills."
'Transforms waste into value'
Bakshi said Reformed Bio's first product - a fertilizer called "Nitrogen Reformed" - will feature biochar made from woody biomass. The biochar will be loaded with nitrogen that will eventually be sourced from livestock manure.
"This circular approach transforms waste into value, reducing reliance on fossil-based fertilizers," according to company materials.
The nitrogen-loaded biochar will then be turned into stable, long-lasting pellets covered by a food-grade, slow-release coating. Bakshi said he's targeting the gradual release of nitrogen over the entire growing season. He said greenhouse studies have shown excellent results in nitrogen use efficiency and plant response.
"Another thing I love about this innovation from ISU is that famers and co-ops don't need to change their operation to use Nitrogen Reformed," Anderson said. "It works with current practices and machinery."
Production, testing at Iowa State
The company will begin production by leasing space and equipment at Iowa State's BioCentury Research Farm just west of Ames. Bakshi will lead an Iowa State effort to begin field trials on university research fields later this fall and the company hopes to begin limited sales next year.
Reform Bio's first product aims to completely offset traditional nitrogen fertilizers such as urea, untreated manure and anhydrous ammonia. Anderson said studies show that 40-50% of those fertilizers are lost to leaching and emissions.
Is there a market for a new way?
"I'm very optimistic," Anderson said. "This is a capital-intense business at scale. The path to commercial scale will be a tightrope walk that may require partnerships or venture capital."
But he said there are many reasons to move ahead. Company materials, for example, list four primary benefits for farmers:
- Reducing fertilizer leaching, runoff and emissions into the atmosphere
- Improving nutrient retention and raising yields
- Synchronizing fertilizer release with crop demands through early growth to grain production, and
- Lowering environmental impacts by reducing runoff, improving soil and sequestering carbon.
The materials also say carbon sequestration can help farmers and ethanol producers qualify for various government carbon credits and payments.
That, the company says, is a "biochar-powered advantage" that will deliver "proven results with scientific backing from ISU."
