Plasma Catalyst-Integrated System for Ammonia Production from H2O and N2 at Atmospheric Pressure

Plasma technology is considered a sustainable and clean technology for the conversion of naturally abundant compounds (i.e., water (H2O) and nitrogen gas (N-2)) into energy-abundant compounds (e.g., hydrogen gas (H-2), ammonia (NH3)) or chemical feed molecules (e.g., nitric oxide (NO)). Here, we report a plasma catalyst-integrated system for sustainable ammonia production, which can facilitate massive, localized ammonia production. This study demonstrates the single-step cogeneration of H-2 and nitric oxides (NOx) from H2O in the nitrogen discharge used for ammonia production, which proceeded via the catalytic reduction of NOx by H-2. The proposed plasma technique yields higher NO and H-2 concentrations than conventional plasma methods, which were used to obtain an ammonia concentration of similar to 0.84% with a selectivity of similar to 95% and a production rate of 120 mu mol/s. These promising results provide a breakthrough in the transition toward sustainable and environmentally friendly ammonia production.

Automated summary

Plasma technology is utilized for sustainable ammonia production by converting water and nitrogen gas into hydrogen gas, ammonia, and nitric oxide. The integrated plasma catalyst system allows for massive, localized ammonia production with high selectivity and production rate, marking a breakthrough in environmentally friendly ammonia production methods.