Rice University-Built Reactor Yields Green Ammonia and Purified Water
Researchers at Rice University are studying a carbon-neutral water purification process aided by new University reactor.
According to Rice University, ammonia plays a critical role in sustaining food production for the world’s growing population, but making it accounts for about 2% of global energy consumption and 1.4% of carbon dioxide emissions. Rice University engineers have developed a revolutionary reactor design that could decarbonize ammonia production while also mitigating water pollution.
In a study published in Nature Catalysis, a team of Rice engineers led by Haotian Wang described the development of a new reactor system that converts nitrates — common pollutants found in industrial wastewater and agricultural runoff — into ammonia, a vital chemical used not only in fertilizers, but also in a wide range of industrial and commercial products, from household cleaners to plastics, explosives and even fuel.
Currently, ammonia is one of the most widely produced chemicals in the world, with global demand surpassing 180 million tons annually. The main way to make ammonia is the Haber-Bosh process, which entails a reaction between hydrogen and nitrogen that occurs under high temperature and pressure conditions and is dependent on large-scale centralized infrastructure. One alternative to this process is electrochemical synthesis, which involves the use of electricity to drive chemical reactions.
