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By
Brian
Westenhaus
on November 14, 2022
Tech
Breakthrough Could Slash Fertilizer Emissions
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Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a
new catalyst that could transform the process of converting
nitrogen and hydrogen to ammonia.
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The new
breakthrough could help dramatically reduce the carbon footprint
of ammonia production.
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It's
enough to make almost everyone hope this technology will scale up
commercially and not fall into the clutches of the fertilizer
barons.
![](images/images_11_15_2022/pic1.jpg)
Tokyo Institute of Technology
researchers have developed a metal nitride catalyst containing an
active metal (Ni) on a lanthanum nitride support that is stable in
presence of moisture. The
goal is to cut the energy requirements of the Haber-Bosch process,
which converts nitrogen and hydrogen to ammonia. Plus, since the
catalyst doesn’t contain ruthenium, it presents an inexpensive option
for reducing the carbon footprint of
ammonia production.
The research report has been published
in Angewandte Chemie.
The Haber-Bosch process, which is
commonly used to synthesize ammonia (NH3)-the foundation for synthetic
nitrogen fertilizers-by combining hydrogen (H2) and nitrogen (N2) over
catalysts at high pressures and temperatures, is one of the most
important scientific discoveries that has helped improve crop yields
and increase food production globally.
However,
the process requires high fossil fuel energy inputs due to its
requirements of high temperatures and pressure. Hydrogen used for this
process is produced from natural gas (mainly methane). This
hydrogen-producing process is energy-consuming and accompanies huge
emission of carbon dioxide.
To
overcome these issues, various catalysts have been developed to allow
the reaction to proceed under milder conditions using hydrogen
produced by water electrolysis via renewable energy. Among them are
nitride-based catalysts that contain active metal nanoparticles like
nickel and cobalt (Ni, Co) loaded on lanthanum nitride (LaN) supports.
In these catalysts, both the support and the active metal are involved
in the production of NH3. The active metal splits the H2 while the LaN
support contains nitrogen vacancies and nitrogen atoms in its crystal
structure that adsorb and activate nitrogen (N2).
While
these catalysts are inexpensive (since they avoid using ruthenium,
which is costly), their catalytic performance is degraded in the
presence of moisture, with the LaN support transforming into lanthanum
hydroxide (La(OH)3).
The
researchers from China and Japan led by Professor Hideo Hosono from
the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), Japan, have developed
a chemically stable catalyst that is stable in the presence of
moisture. Taking inspiration from stable rare-earth compounds
containing chemical bonds between a rare-earth metal (in this case,
La) and a metal, they incorporated aluminum atoms into the LaN
structure and synthesized a chemically stable La3AlN support
containing La-Al bonds that prevent lanthanum atoms from reacting with
moisture.
Prof
Hosono explained the La-Al-N support along with the active metals,
such as nickel and cobalt (Ni, Co), was able to produce NH3 at rates
similar to that with conventional metal nitride catalysts and could
maintain a stable production when fed with nitrogen gas-containing
moisture. “The Ni- or Co-loaded La-Al-N catalysts showed no distinct
degradation following exposure to 3.5% moisture,” said Prof. Hosono.
While the
Al atoms stabilized the support, the lattice nitrogen and nitrogen
defects present in the doped support enabled the synthesis of ammonia
in a manner similar to the conventional active metal/rare-earth metal
nitride catalysts. “Lattice nitrogen as well as nitrogen vacancy in
La-Al-N play a key role in N2 adsorption, with the La-Al-N support and
the active metal Ni being responsible for N2 and H2 absorption and
activation, respectively,” added Prof. Hosono.
Related: Oil Prices Could Soon Break $100 As Upside Risk Grows
The Haber-Bosch
process is an energy-intensive chemical reaction, accounting for about
1 % of global annual carbon dioxide emissions. While alternative
environmentally friendly approaches for NH3 production are being
investigated, introducing inexpensive catalysts could provide
immediate benefits by allowing the process to operate under milder
conditions.
***
The Haber-Bosch process might just lock back up more CO2 in plant
growth than the process produces.
Then the
ammonia business has lately been immensely profitable. That and the
past decade has seen ammonia for fertilizer increase about 10 fold in
price.
It's
enough to make almost everyone hope this technology will scale up
commercially and not fall into the clutches of the fertilizer barons.
It will
be interesting to see which technology prevails. Splitting water isn’t
energy free but neither is splitting hydrogen from the methane of
natural gas.
If this
technology isn’t disappeared, we might finally find out.
By Brian Westenhaus via New Energy and Fuel
Green Play Ammonia™, Yielder® NFuel Energy.
Spokane, Washington. 99212
www.exactrix.com
509 995 1879 cell, Pacific.
exactrix@exactrix.com
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