Better Way To Produce Ammonium

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Making ammonium is one of the most important chemical processes in our technological world. But it is very “dirty” and puts a heavy toll on the environment. But a new process could change this and we may see “green” ammonium.


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Ammonium is one of the most industrially produced chemicals. It is truly needed by our modern society. The majority of ammonium is used to create fertilizers but it is also used to make plastics, fibers, explosives, drugs, and so much more. Every single year about 230 million tons of ammonium are created.

Almost all of our ammonium is currently being produced using the classic Haber-Bosch process. In this process, we change atmospheric nitrogen into ammonium by having it react with hydrogen at high temperatures and pressures while a metal catalyst is present. This process is truly a classic as it was developed at the beginning of the 20th century by German chemists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch. Back then it was major breakthrough that changed agriculture and military production. This process alone is something called the detonator of human population as it lead to the explosion of the number of humans on Earth.

Currently, the Haber-Bosch process is viewed as an extreme load on the environment. The hydrogen is acquired from methane and in the process of getting the hydrogen 6 tons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere per every 1.1 tons of hydrogen gathered. On top of that, ammonium production uses 3 – 5 % of the world’s natural gas production and creates 1.8 % of carbon dioxide emissions. Even worse a great amount of dangerous nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere as well. So, it is quite obvious if we could replace the Haber-Bosch process with a process that is more green everyone would benefit.

And it seems such a breakthrough may be near. At least researchers from the Monash University in Australia think so. They say they removed natural gas from the process of making ammonium and that they are producing a lot of it at room temperature.

Their new process is similar to hydrogen electrolysis. But the difference lies in the fact that it uses electrolytes known from the world of lithium batteries. The creation uses electrolytic cells that include liquefied nitrogen. When current passes through the cell a lithium nitrite Li3N is created on the surface of the copper cathode. The electrolyte has phosphonium salts that work as a powerful carrier of hydrogen ions. When the hydrogen ions get to the cathode they replace all three lithium atoms and the nitrite turns into ammonium. This is released from the surface of the cathode and can be then used. The phosphonium salts are constantly being recycled and the process can constantly run for up to four days.

One concern for the process is that it is only as “green” as the electricity used to power it. According to its creators, it can be even used in extremely small places as greenhouses but it can also be used in large industrial operations. The researchers already patented the process and created a spin-off company Jupiter Ionics that should bring the technology to the market.

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