Challenging plants

The many uses of plants

Useful plants

Plants already have numerous uses. In the future there may be many more.

Their uses may be categorised as follows

Food and animal feed

Fuels

Fibres

Health products

Dyes and fragrances

Feedstocks

Construction materials

Environmental enhancement

Phytoextraction and mining

Roadmap challenges

In Chemistry for Tomorrow’s World, the RSC says:“Global change is creating enormous challenges relating to energy, food and climate change. It is both necessary and urgent that action be taken.”

In its Roadmap, the RSC identified priority areas in which the chemical sciences can support change. These are

EnergyFoodFuture citiesHuman healthLifestyle and recreationRaw materials and feedstocksWater and air

[Full details at: http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/roadmap/priorityareas/index.asp]

Many of

these make

connections

to the use

of plants

Plants and the challengesChallenges

EnergyEnergy efficiency

Energy conversion and storageFossil fuels

Nuclear energyNuclear waste

Biopower and biofuelsHydrogen

Solar energyWind and water

FoodAgricultural productivity

Healthy foodFood safety

Process efficiencySupply chain waste

Future citiesResources

Home energy generationHome energy use

Construction materialsMobility

ICTPublic safety and security

Challenges

Human healthAgeingDiagnosticsHygiene and infectionMaterials and prostheticsDrugs and therapiesPersonalised medicine

Lifestyle and recreation Creative industriesHouseholdSporting technologyAdvanced and sustainable electronicsTextiles

Water and airDrinking water qualityWater demandWastewaterContaminantsAir quality and climate

Raw materials and feedstocksSustainable product designConservation of scarce natural resourcesConversion of biomass feedstocksRecovered feedstocks

Some examples of linking uses of plants to the roadmap challenges

Biomass for processing into biofuels

Potential sources of new therapeutic drugs

Staple crops, e.g. cereals and rice, and more specialised foods, e.g. fruit and vegetables

Varied foods for balanced, healthy diets

Food enriched in essential elements (biofortification)

Natural fibres for textiles and clothing, for work and leisure

Phytoremediation

Biodegradable packaging

Materials for construction

Feedstocks such as oils, carbohydrates and resins

Phytoextraction and, perhaps, phytomining

Growing plants to obtain useful products

Example: Growing cotton plants to obtain cotton fibres that can be used to make textiles

Plants are grown to obtain, for example, for food, animal feed, fuel, medicines, chemical feedstocks and building materials. Some are grown just because they look attractive. Whatever the purpose, all plants need the right conditions to produce good yields of quality plants.

All plants need nutrients for healthy growth.

Nutrients are absorbed from soil water through the plant’s roots.

Frequently, fertilisers are used to increase the quantities of available nutrients.

Given suitable conditions, seeds germinate and plants grow. At the right time they are harvested.

Cotton bolls are harvested and cotton fibres obtained from them

Growing plants for phytomanagement

Example: Extracting copper from low grade copper ore and waste from disused copper mines

Copper ions are absorbed through the roots and distributed throughout the plant.

Plants can be used to:• clean up soil - phytoremediation• extract substances from the soil - phytoextraction• and, a growing possibility, to mine metals from the ground - phytomining

phytomanagement

Copper ore and waste slowly dissolve to give a solution of copper ions.

Copper ions in soil water are absorbed through a plant’s roots into its stems and leaves. This is the same process by which a plant takes up nutrients from the soil.

Plants are harvested, dried and burned to produce an ash - a copper ore.

Copper is extracted from the ash by treatment with, for example, sulfuric acid.

Copper is obtained by chemical or electrolytic reduction of the copper solution.

Understanding equilibrium and kinetics

Growing plants Whether it is growing plants to obtain useful producers from them or growing plants for phyomanagement, absorption of ions and molecules from the soil is key.

Two interfaces are key: soil/water and water/root. At each, many exchange equilibriums are happening. Also, numerous chemical equilibriums are happening in soil water.

Understanding the physiochemical principles underpinning equilibrium exchanges that happen at these interfaces and in solution can help us produce quality crops in high yield and to use plants for phytomanagement.

Making and applying fertilisers

Plants require essential nutrients to grow well.

Frequently these are provided by fertilisers, applied to either the soil or to plant foliage.

Arguably nitrogen is the most important nutrient. It is made available in various forms, including liquid ammonia, ammonium salts, nitrates and urea.

Chemical equilibrium plays a key part in the manufacture, for example, of ammonia and nitric acid.

The reaction of nitrogen withhydrogen is an example of achemical equilibrium:N2(g) + 3H2(g) ⇌ 2NH3(g)

Energetics and kinetics are also vitally important, both in the manufacture and the use of fertilisers.Understanding the physiochemical principles underpinning these processes enables fertilisers to be made and applied safely and economically.

soil water

rootssoil

ions and molecules

dissolved in water

ions and molecules

dissolved in water

Plants and the active challenges

Three of the active challenges

Nine roadmap challenges were identified by the RSC for immediate action. Three of these have strong connections with the use of plants to obtain products and for phytomanagement. They are:

Agricultural productivitySignificantly and sustainably increase agricultural productivity to provide food, feed, fibre and fuel.

Conservation of scarce natural resourcesDeveloping alternative materials and new recovery processes for valuable components which cannot be replaced.

Conversion of biomass feedstocksDeveloping biomass conversion technology to sustainably produce renewable fuels and chemicals.

For more information and to monitor changes to the active challenges see http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/roadmap/activechallenges.asp

Agricultural productivity(http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/roadmap/priorityareas/food/agriculture/index.asp)

ChallengeSignificantly and sustainably increase agricultural productivity to provide food, feed, fibre and fuel.

The overall challenge has been divided into six more specific challenges:

Effective farming

Livestock and aquaculture

Pest control

Plant science

Soil science

Water

Click on the links to find out more

about each of these

challenges

Plants and the active challenges

Conservation of scarce natural resources (http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/roadmap/priorityareas/rawmaterials/naturalresources.asp)

ChallengeRaw material and feedstock resources for both existing industries and future applications are increasingly scarce. We need to develop a range of alternative materials and along with new processes for recovering valuable components.

Potential opportunities for the chemical sciences

Recovery of metals

Substitute key materials

Reduce material intensity

Conversion of biomass feedstocks(http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/roadmap/priorityareas/rawmaterials/biomass.asp)

ChallengeBiomass feedstocks for producing chemicals and fuels are becoming more commercially viable. In the future, integrated bio-refineries using more than one feedstock will yield energy, fuel and a range of chemicals with no waste being produced.

Potential opportunities for the chemical sciences

Develop bioprocessing science for producing chemicals

New separation technologies

Novel catalysts and biocatalysts for processing biomass

Convert platform chemicals to high value products

Agricultural productivity

Effective farming(http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/roadmap/priorityareas/food/agriculture/farming.asp)

ChallengeMinimising inputs and maximising outputs through agronomic practice.

Potential opportunities for the chemical sciences

Develop rapid in situ biosensor systems that can monitor soil quality, crop condition and water availability to pinpoint problems.Analyse climate change parameters in order to be able to predict changing conditions for agronomy.Precision agriculture at the field level.Engineering tools for on farm practices - e.g. grain drying, seed treatment and crop handling

Livestock and aquaculture(http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/roadmap/priorityareas/food/agriculture/livestock.asp)

ChallengeOptimised feed conversion and carcass composition.

Potential opportunities for the chemical sciences

•Develop new vaccines and veterinary medicines to treat the diseases (old/new/emerging) of livestock and farmed fish•Aquaculture production for food and industrial use (including algae)•Understand feed in animals, via nutrigenomics and bioavailability of nutrients•Formulation engineering for delivery and minor component release to reduce waste.•Genetic engineering•Genetic analysis for conventional breeding - Qualitative Trait Loci (QTL)

Back to Plants and the active challenges

Pest control(http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/roadmap/priorityareas/food/agriculture/pest.asp)

ChallengeUp to 40 per cent of agricultural productivity would be lost without effective use of crop protection chemicals. Agriculture is facing emerging and resistant strains of pests. The development of new crop protection strategies is essential.

Potential opportunities for the chemical sciences

New high-potency, more targeted agrochemicals with new modes of action. These must be safe to use, overcome resistant pests and environmentally benign.Formulation technology for new mixtures of existing actives, and to ensure a consistent effective dose is delivered at the right time and in the right quantityDevelop better pest control strategies, including using pheromones, semiochemicals and allelochemicals, as well as GM and pesticidesPesticides tailored to the challenges of specific plant growth conditions - eg hydroponicsReduce chemical crop protection strategies through GM crops

Plant science(http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/roadmap/priorityareas/food/agriculture/plant.asp)

ChallengeIncreasing yield and controlling secondary metabolism by better understanding plant science.

Potential opportunities for the chemical sciences

Understand and exploit biochemical plant signals for developing new crop defence technologiesImprove the understanding of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur cycling to help optimise carbon and nitrogen sequestration and benefit plant nutritionUnderstand plant growth regulatorsDevelop secondary metabolites for food and industrial useUnderstand the impact of nutrients at the macro and micro levelExploit the outputs of this understanding using biotechnologyNitrogen and water usage efficiency - e.g. drought resistant crops for better water managementBetter yields of components for biofuels and feedstocks through the use of modern biotechnology

Agricultural productivity

Back to Plants and the active challenges

Soil science(http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/roadmap/priorityareas/food/agriculture/soil.asp)

ChallengeUnderstanding the structural, chemical and microbiological composition of soil and its interactions with plants and the environment.

Potential opportunities for the chemical sciences

Develop fertiliser formulations able to improve the retention of nitrogen in soil and uptake into plants Optimise farming practices by understanding the biochemistry of soil ecosystems, for example, the mobility of chemicals within soilImprove the understanding of methane oxidation by bacteria in soil to help in developing methane-fixing technologiesUnderstand soil structure - mechanical properties of soils and nutrient flowLow energy synthesis of nitrogen and phosphorus-containing fertilisers.

Water(http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/roadmap/priorityareas/food/agriculture/water.asp)

ChallengeCoping with extremes of water quality and availability for agriculture.

Potential opportunities for the chemical sciences

Use grey water in agricultureTargeted use of water in agriculture (drip delivery)

Agricultural productivity

Back to Plants and the active challenges