Atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia using renewable electrical energy and catalyst generated out of spent batteries
Principal Investigator
Prof. Kothandaraman R
Objective
- Development of ZnMnO4 (or of a better electrocatalyst) based electrodes for flow reactor, Development of crude flow reactor with anatomy similar to the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell, Optimizing the flow field design (for the flow of N2 gas into the gas-diffusion electrodes) in terms of utilization of N2 for NRR, pressure drop, and thermal management by computer fluid dynamics modelling, Developing a reactor stack of 100 cm? in total area for ammonia production with the optimized electrode and flow parameters
Description
- To achieve the goal, a small lab scale beaker cell, which can convert N2 to ammonia electrochemically using the ZnMnO4 catalyst obtained by recycling spent primary zinc-carbon batteries has been developed. The project intends to build a continuous reactor, which is similar in anatomy to a fuel cell, to generate ammonia continuously and to demonstrate the developed technology at the TRL levels 5 to 7.
Impact
- Preventing global warming with an alternative NH3 production process, Reducing battery recycle waste, Reducing energy storage cost leading to significant savings on electricity bills
Budget in Lakhs
49.16
Duration
3 Years