Clean Energy Capability Portfolio | Clean Fuels |
Competitive Advantage • PartCat combines expertise in nanoscale catalyst synthesis , reaction process design , and plasma technology for two key reactions – ammonia production and CO2 conversion
• Ammonia production – utilisation of non-thermal plasma can generate NO3- , which is then electrocatalytically reduced to ammonia , a novel pathway for ammonia production only utilising water , air , and electricity
• CO2 methanation – utilisation of non-thermal plasma can enhance the dissociation of CO2 into reaction intermediates , which are then reduced to methane at lower temperatures compared to conventional thermal catalysis
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Successful Applications • Ammonia production utilising hybrid-plasma-electrolyser technology uses a low pressure (~ 10 bar ) operation , and could reduce the energy input by > 25 % and carbon footprint by > 90 % compared with the conventional Haber – Bosch process
• ammonia yields can be increased by ~ 3,000 times when compared to the highest yields obtained by electrochemical nitrogen reduction
• CO2 methanation with an integrated plasma resulted in a CO2 conversion of 60 % with a CH4 selectivity of > 97 % at 150 ° C , compared to a required temperature of 320 - 330 ° C in conventional thermal catalysis
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Our Collaborators • PlasmaLeap technologies
• CSIRO
More Information Dr Emma Lovell School of Chemical Engineering T : + 61 2 9385 4361 E : e . lovell @ unsw . edu . au
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Impact • Ammonia production can occur without the energy intensive Haber-Bosch process , while utilising renewable energy inputs , where the ammonia produced can be used as a hydrogen carrier , chemical feedstock , or directly as a fertiliser
• Conversion of waste CO2 ( e . g ., contained in flue gas ) into methane can be used as a carbon up-cycling process , which can occur at lower temperatures due to the incorporation of plasma
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Capabilities and Facilities • A range of non-thermal plasma generating devices to generate plasma , including dielectric barrier discharge plasma
• Custom-designed electrochemical and thermal catalytic reactors that integrate plasma
• Nanoparticle synthesis and characterisation techniques
• Product detection capabilities ( NMR , GC / MS , UV-Vis ) and a wide range of electrocatalytic reactions
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Associate Professor Jason Scott School of Chemical Engineering T : + 61 2 9385 7361 E : jason . scott @ unsw . edu . au |
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