Reuse ammonia in hydrogen electrolyzers (REUSE) project receives Open Competition Domain Science 鈥� XS grant
A high-risk/high-gain project exploring novel electrocatalysts for recovering ammonia, a pollutant nitrogen compound mainly derived from livestock manure and chemical fertilizers.
Professor Marta Costa Figueiredo from the Inorganic Materials Chemistry Group has received an worth 鈧� 50,000 for her Reuse ammonia in hydrogen electrolyzers (REUSE) project.
REUSE will explore novel electrocatalysts for recovering ammonia, a pollutant nitrogen compound mainly derived from livestock manure and chemical fertilizers. This idea is based on a unique concept that combines, in a circular manner, the conversion of ammonia to a high-value compound (hydroxylamine) and the simultaneous production of hydrogen in the same electrochemical device.
REUSE is a high-risk/high-gain project. It is highly explorative as there are very limited materials capable of oxidizing ammonia to hydroxylamine (an interesting product for the chemical industry). Research in this field has been increasing. More and more researchers are exploring alternative pathways to synthesize chemicals, particularly using renewable energy sources. However, combining the recycling of waste products with the production of high-value chemicals, as proposed in this project, is scarcer in the field.
Initially this project will be running for 7 months. If it is successful Marta will further collaborate with a colleague to look into implementing it in an electrolyzer.