Proceedings of MATSUS Spring 2024 Conference (MATSUS24)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsus.2024.329
Publication date: 18th December 2023
The synthesis of ammonia for fertilizer use has the highest energy consumption (2.5 EJ / year) and carbon emissions (340 Mt CO2 eq/year) of any commodity chemical. The high environmental impact is attributed to the use of steam reforming to produce hydrogen, the production scale (200 MMtons NH3/year), and the energy intensity required to maintain reactor operating conditions (~100 bar and ~700 K). Interestingly, most of this ammonia is used for the production of carbon-nitrogen-based fertilizer (urea). The direct production of ammonia and/or urea using electrons is of growing interest to decarbonize fertilizer production. The chief challenge with these approaches remains the low catalytic selectivity. Low selectivity is attributed often to the the more facile hydrogen evolution reaction. However, during reactions with multiple reactants (co-reactants), low selectivity is also due to an increase in products that can form on the catalyst. For instance, during electrocatalytic urea synthesis, dinitrogen gas, nitrate, and carbon dioxide often serve as reactants, while ammonia, nitrite, and a range of C1+ and C2+ carbon products can be formed. Here, we aim to discuss recent progress made in understanding the role co-reactants play during the production of nitrogen-based fertilizers (e.g. ammonia and urea). We will highlight through bulk product analyses and in situ spectroscopic investigations the critical adsorbates that inhibit and augment the production of urea.
We acknowledge support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
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