Research team led by Professor Hideo Hosono of the Tokyo Institute of Technology reported in the online edition of the British journal Nature Chemistry, a new one in 22 said that they have developed a new technology for an efficient synthetic ammonia, using this technology to the energy consumption only one tenth of the traditional method.
mmonia very important for life on Earth, it is an important component of all food and fertilizer, but also directly or indirectly involved in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, and is expected to be applied in the field of fuel cell. Ammonia is the most productive in the world, one of the inorganic compounds of the world's annual production of about 1.7 million tons of ammonia.
The synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen, but destroy the strong binding between the nitrogen molecules react with the hydrogen required to consume a lot of energy.
Hideo Hosono et Investigator its C12A7 in the development of the superconducting substance was added ruthenium microparticle when ammonia now commonly used to prepare a catalyst. C12A7 is calcium aluminate compound is the main component of high alumina cement.
The researchers found that, in such a catalyst, nitrogen, ammonia and hydrogen energy efficient. They believe that this is due to become easy to move, so that nitrogen molecules easily become atoms in the compound when electronic.
Tokyo Institute of Technology researchers ready to further improve the performance of the catalyst, and strive to make this new technology in the five years to 10 years after reached the practical level.