Method and apparatus for ammonia (NH3) generation
AssigneeArizona Board of Regents for and on behalf of Arizona State University
InventorsCody A. Friesen, Joel R. Hayes, Robert A. Zeller
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Abstract
Various apparatuses and methods for producing ammonia are provided. One embodiment uses a plurality of environments and an electrode configured to be exposed to the plurality of environments. The electrode is configured to receive hydrogen while being exposed to one of the environments, reduce nitrogen while being exposed to another environment, and allow the hydrogen and nitrogen to react with each other to form ammonia. Other embodiments provide for simultaneous hydrogen oxidation and nitrogen reduction at the same electrode, which in turn react for formation of ammonia.
Claims20
A method for making ammonia (NH3), comprising:
- exposing a hydrogen receptive electrode having absorbed hydrogen to a nitrogen-containing electrolyte comprising nitrogen;
- applying a first potential to the hydrogen receptive electrode while exposed to the nitrogen-containing electrolyte to reduce the nitrogen to nitride ions (N3−) at the electrode;
- and
- then applying a second potential more anodic than the first potential to the hydrogen receptive electrode to oxidize the hydrogen absorbed in the electrode and create cationic hydrogen (H+) at the electrode, so that the cationic hydrogen and the nitride ions at the electrode combine to form ammonia.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.