Synergistic effect of Ru/CeO2/MgO catalyst on ammonia synthesis

Title : Synergistic effect of Ru/CeO2/MgO catalyst on ammonia synthesis

Abstract:

Ammonia is a potential hydrogen and energy carrier. It has a high capacity for hydrogen. As an energy carrier, ammonia is considered an energy-dense and zero-carbon fuel. Industrially, ammonia is synthesized by the Haber-Bosch process using an iron-based catalyst. The significant drawbacks  of this  process include  the requirement of high temperature (425-600 °C) and pressure (20-30 MPa) conditions as well emission of greenhouse gases. Green ammonia can be synthesized with hydrogen produced from the electrolysis of water using renewable energy. To utilize renewable derived hydrogen, it is required to develop catalysts with higher efficiency at mild reaction conditions. Ru catalysts are known for their higher activity at mild reaction conditions. In this study, Ru/CeO2/MgO catalysts were prepared with various Ce/Mg molar ratios. CeO2 and Ru were sequentially deposited on MgO by the impregnation method. The ammonia synthesis activity of prepared catalysts was determined using hydrogen and nitrogen as reactants. Ru/CeO2/MgO catalyst with Ce/Mg molar ratio 0.1 showed 25% higher ammonia synthesis activity to that of pure CeO2 supported Ru catalyst. Various characterizations and experiments for measurements of activation energy, ammonia, hydrogen, and nitrogen order were conducted. Relatively higher activation energy and positive hydrogen order were considered the plausible reasons for obtaining higher ammonia synthesis for Ru/CeO2/MgO catalyst with Ce/Mg molar ratio of 0.1.

Biography:

Dr. Rahat Javaid is a Research Scientist at Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan. Her research interests include synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts and their application to environmental and energy-related fields. She was awarded Gold Medal for getting first-class first position in M.Sc. Chemistry. She earned her Ph.D. degree from Tohoku University, Japan, under the Monbukagakusho MEXT Scholarship. After postdoctoral research experience at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, she obtained the position of  Research Scientist at the Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute, AIST. She  participated  in many national/international conferences and published many research articles.