Recent progress in ammonia production via plasma-electrocatalysis cascade system

Abstract

Ammonia (NH₃) is widely utilized in agriculture to manufacture fertilizers and is an important feedstock in the pharmaceutical, metallurgical, and textile industries. Owing to its highly compressible nature, NH₃ is also regarded as an ideal carbon-free hydrogen carrier for the next-generation fuel cells. The Haber-Bosch process is currently the main method for NH₃ production but suffers from high energy consumption and intensive carbon emission. Recently, the plasma-electrochemical cascade pathway - plasma nitrogen fixation from air in tandem with electrocatalytic synthesis of NH₃ - has emerged as an alternative by the simplified process, low carbon emission, and high NH₃ yield. However, the research in this area has not been summarized timely. This review systematically summarizes the research progress of plasma-electrochemical cascade pathway for the first time. Through performance and energy consumption analysis, key issues that need to be addressed have been identified: improving the efficiency of plasma nitrogen fixation and NH₃ electrosynthesis. In response to these challenges, corresponding optimization strategies are provided in the end, pointing out the direction for the subsequent research on this emerging field.

Keywords

Ammonia / plasma / electrosynthesis / PECP / cascade system

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