• Clean Technology
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.71-93
• /
• 2024

Recently, the establishment of a hydrogen-based economy and the utilization of low-carbon energy sources, particularly for shipping and power generation, have been in high demand in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. In particular, ammonia is gaining renewed attention because it is capable of serving as a key facilitator for high-efficiency green hydrogen storage and transportation and it is also capable of serving as a low-carbon energy source. Although ammonia can be synthesized through the Haber-Bosch process, the high energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with this process result in minimal carbon reduction. To address the critical drawbacks of the traditional Haber-Bosch process, various thermochemical synthesis methods have been developed recently, allowing for the synthesis of ammonia with lower carbon emissions and a higher energy efficiency. Research is also progressing in the development of high-performance catalyst materials that are capable of demonstrating sufficient ammonia synthesis performance under milder process conditions compared to conventional methods. Additionally, a variety of different processes such as chemical-looping ammonia synthesis, plasma synthesis, and mechanochemical synthesis are being applied diversely. This review aims to provide a detailed overview of the emerging ammonia synthesis technologies that have been developed to effectively store green hydrogen for future applications.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.1-12
• /
• 2019

The reduction of nitrogen to produce ammonia has been attracting much attention as a renewable energy technology. Ammonia is the basis for many fertilizers and is also considered an energy carrier that can power internal combustion engines, diesel engines, gas turbines, and fuel cells. Traditionally, ammonia has been produced through the Haber-Bosch process, in which atmospheric nitrogen combines with hydrogen at high temperature ($350-550^{\circ}C$) and high pressure (150-300 bar). This process consumes 1-2% of current global energy production and relies on fossil fuels as an energy source. Reducing the energy input required for this process will reduce $CO_2$ emissions and the corresponding environmental impact. For this reason, developing electrochemical ammonia-production methods under ambient temperature and pressure conditions should significantly reduce the energy input required to produce ammonia. In this review, we introduce the electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction at ambient condition. Numerical studies on the electrochemical nitrogen reduction mechanism have been carried out through the computation of density function theory. Electrodes such as nanowires and porous electrodes have been also actively studied for further participation in electrochemical reactions.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.61 no.4
• /
• pp.598-603
• /
• 2023

Electrochemical ammonia production using catalysts offers a promising alternative to the conventional Haber-Bosch process, allowing for ambient temperature and pressure conditions, environmentally friendly operations, and high-purity ammonia production. In this study, we focus on the nitrogen reduction reactions occurring on the surfaces of ruthenium catalysts, employing first-principles calculations. By modeling reaction pathways for nitrogen reduction on the (0001) and (1000) surfaces of ruthenium, we optimized the reaction structures and predicted favorable pathways for each step. We found that the adsorption configuration of N₂ on each surface significantly influenced subsequent reaction activities. On the (0001) surface of ruthenium, the end-on configuration, where nitrogen molecules adsorb perpendicularly to the surface, exhibited the most favorable N₂ adsorption energy. Similarly, on the (1000) surface, the end-on configuration showed the most stable adsorption energy values. Subsequently, through optimized hydrogen adsorption in both distal and alternating configurations, we theoretically elucidated the complete reaction pathways required for the final desorption of NH₃.