Nitrogen fixation through plasma-liquid interaction: Computational and experimental studies.

The NH3 produced in the Haber-Bosch (H-B) process today sustains over 40% of the global population in the form of fertilizer. However, the H-B process is an extremely energy-intensive and CO2 emitting process that does not have much room left for optimization. In light of the pressing issue of climate change, the world thus calls for an environmentally friendly alternative for nitrogen fixation. My project will explore plasma-liquid interaction as a possible alternative. Plasma-based NH3 synthesis in general has the advantage of working at ambient conditions and can be coupled to renewable energy. Plasma-liquid interaction provides an additional advantage of eliminating the CO2-emitting methane steam reforming step, as it uses H2O as the hydrogen source instead of H2. To be able to optimize NH3 synthesis through plasma-liquid interaction, an in-depth knowledge of the underlying mechanisms is needed, which I aim to obtain through a combined 0D-2D modeling approach. I will use two different plasma sources, i.e. jet and DBD, and investigate their advantages and how to optimize their NH3 production. A research stay is planned at MIPSE for the development of the DBD model. Finally, I will perform experiments for validation of the models, as well as to gain a more complete understanding of the plasma-liquid systems and their capabilities.

Keywords:PLASMA MODELING, CHEMICAL KINETICS, PLASMA CHEMISTRY, AMMONIA

Disciplines:Fluid physics and dynamics, Chemistry of plasmas, Sustainable chemistry not elsewhere classified, Theoretical and computational chemistry not elsewhere classified, Reaction kinetics and dynamics