4 ms·
This type of process has already been developed industrially: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkeland%E2%80%93Eyde_process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkela
by darquomiahw 5y ago
This type of process has already been developed industrially: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkeland%E2%80%93Eyde_process https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkeland%E2%80%93Eyde_process
The trouble is that it is inefficient and will ultimately release some NOx compounds into the atmosphere since the conversion rate is not 100% to HNO3. I'm surprised there is not a single mention of this process in their paper.
- 01100011 5y agoI'm sure there are some optimizations that can be done on the process but yeah, it isn't new. I don't think the NOx issue is significant because you can sequester them, but it does add to the expense and lower the efficiency(unless you have a source of animal urine and can use the urea maybe?). Is the efficiency difference between it and the Haber-Bosch process small enough to be made up by the lack of transportation? I wonder if the nitric acid is a benefit in places with alkaline soil and water chemistries?
- elcritch 5y agoThe process you mention is for a "hot plasma" formed by electric sparks. Presumably this companies technology uses "cold plasma" aka non-thermal plasma which is significantly more efficient and more selective toward HNO3. Heres a good review paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42768-021-00074-z https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42768-021-00074-z Here's another interesting one: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b04997 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b04997 There is still some NOx production, but likely low enough enough concentrations to be filtered.