Combined Effect of Pressure and Temperature on Nitrogen Reduction Reaction in Water

Giuseppe Tranchida, Rachela G. Milazzo (), Salvatore A. Lombardo and Stefania M. S. Privitera
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Giuseppe Tranchida: Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, National Research Council (CNR-IMM), Strada VIII, 5, 95121 Catania, Italy
Rachela G. Milazzo: Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, National Research Council (CNR-IMM), Strada VIII, 5, 95121 Catania, Italy
Salvatore A. Lombardo: Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, National Research Council (CNR-IMM), Strada VIII, 5, 95121 Catania, Italy
Stefania M. S. Privitera: Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems, National Research Council (CNR-IMM), Strada VIII, 5, 95121 Catania, Italy

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 12, 1-8

Abstract: The synthesis of ammonia starting from nitrogen and using electrochemical processes is considered an interesting strategy to produce ammonia in a sustainable way. However, it requires not only the development of efficient catalysts for nitrogen reduction but also the optimization of the operating conditions of the employed electrochemical devices. In this work, we optimize the kinetics and the thermodynamics of the electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction in water by developing a pressurized H-cell that may operate at temperatures up to 80 °C. Ni foam with low Au loading (0.08 mg cm −2 ) has been adopted as a catalyst at the cathode. Ammonia has been produced during chronoamperometry experiments in a saturated N 2 atmosphere and measured by the indophenol blue method. The effect of voltage, temperature, and pressure has been studied. The nitrogen reduction experiments have been repeated under saturated Ar. To remove contributions due to environmental contamination, we determined the net value as the difference between the produced ammonia in N 2 and in Ar. The ammonia yield increases by increasing the temperature and the pressure. The best results have been obtained by using the combined effects of temperature and pressure. Operating at 5 bar of saturated N 2 and 75 °C, a production rate of 6.73 μg h −1 ·cm −2 has been obtained, a value corresponding to a 5-fold enhancement, compared to that obtained under ambient conditions and room temperature.

Keywords: catalysts; e-NRR; ammonia synthesis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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