LAUSR

Industrial ammonia production without CO 2 emission and low energy consumption is one of the technological grand challenges of this age. Current Haber-Bosch ammonia mass production processes work with a thermally activated iron catalyst needing high pressure. The need of large volumes of hydrogen gas and the continuous operation mode render electrification of Haber-Bosch plants difficult to achieve. Electrochemical solutions at low pressure and temperature are faced with the problematic inertness of the nitrogen molecule on electrodes. Direct reduction of N 2 to ammonia is only possible with very reactive chemicals such as lithium metal, the regeneration of which is energy intensive. Here we show the attractiveness of an oxidative route for N 2 activation. N 2 conversion to NO x in a plasma reactor followed by reducing it with H 2 on a heterogeneous catalyst at low pressure is an energy-efficient option for small-scale distributed ammonia production with renewable electricity and without intrinsic CO 2 footprint.