Environmental analysis of plasma-based nitrogen fixation powered by renewable energy.
5 affiliations
- 1School of Engineering, University of Warwick UK [email protected].
- 2Research Group Energy and CO2, Department of Mechanical Engineering Universidad de Zaragoza Spain.
- 3Research group PLASMANT and PLASMA Center of Excellence, Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp Belgium [email protected].
- 4Electrification Institute, University of Antwerp Belgium.
- 5School of Chemical Engineering, Adelaide University Australia.
Abstract
This study assesses the environmental performance of plasma-based nitric acid (HNO₃) production powered by renewable electricity using process modelling and comparative life cycle assessment. Two plasma technologies, a gliding arc plasmatron (GAP) and a rotating gliding arc (RGA), were evaluated under air-fed (N₂ : O₂ 4 : 1) and oxygen-enriched (N₂ : O₂ 1 : 1) configurations using experimental reactor data and real photovoltaic (PV) generation profiles, and were benchmarked against the conventional steam methane reforming-Haber-Bosch-Ostwald process. At atmospheric pressure and an annual electricity mix of 41.5% solar, plasma-based routes show global warming impacts of 1.82-2.25 kg CO₂ eq. per kg HNO₃, while the conventional route emits 1.93 kg CO₂ eq. per kg HNO₃ at the factory gate. When the solar share is over 60%, all plasma plant configurations emit lower carbon than the benchmark, reaching emissions as low as 0.99 kg CO₂ eq. per kg HNO₃ for the air-fed GAP reactor when the plant is powered 100% by solar PV. The results were also highly sensitive to future improvements in plasma electricity demand: a scenario reducing demand by 20% decreased climate change impacts by approximately 11-18%, with all four plasma configurations achieving lower impacts than the benchmark. Similar benefits were observed for ozone formation and terrestrial acidification. Seasonal variation in solar/grid share (18-64%) changed global warming impacts by approximately 43%. Plasma routes also showed higher toxicity and land use impacts, mainly due to electrical infrastructure and PV systems. Oxygen enrichment improved NO x yields but required additional energy for O₂ production; it became environmentally favourable only below approximately 0.5 kWh kg⁻¹ O₂. Elevated-pressure RGA operation at 4 bar substantially improved performance, reducing total plant energy cost by 43% and 27% for the 4 : 1 and 1 : 1 configurations, respectively, and lowering global warming impacts to 1.19 and 1.10 kg CO₂ eq. per kg HNO₃. Overall, plasma-based HNO₃ production shows strong low-carbon potential, particularly under elevated-pressure operation.
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BibTeX
@article{osoriotejada2026environmental,
title = {{Environmental analysis of plasma-based nitrogen fixation powered by renewable energy.}},
author = {Jose Osorio-Tejada and Yury Gorbanev and Vikram Kenjle and Annemie Bogaerts and Volker Hessel},
journal = {Green chemistry : an international journal and green chemistry resource : GC},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1039/d6gc04056j},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903292},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Environmental analysis of plasma-based nitrogen fixation powered by renewable energy.
AU - Jose Osorio-Tejada
AU - Yury Gorbanev
AU - Vikram Kenjle
AU - Annemie Bogaerts
AU - Volker Hessel
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - Green chemistry : an international journal and green chemistry resource : GC
DO - 10.1039/d6gc04056j
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903292
AB - This study assesses the environmental performance of plasma-based nitric acid (HNO₃) production powered by renewable electricity using process modelling and comparative life cycle assessment. Two plasma technologies, a gliding arc plasmatron (GAP) and a rotating gliding arc (RGA), were evaluated under air-fed (N₂ : O₂ 4 : 1) and oxygen-enriched (N₂ : O₂ 1 : 1) configurations using experimental reactor data and real photovoltaic (PV) generation profiles, and were benchmarked against the conventional steam methane reforming-Haber-Bosch-Ostwald process. At atmospheric pressure and an annual electricity mix of 41.5% solar, plasma-based routes show global warming impacts of 1.82-2.25 kg CO₂ eq. per kg HNO₃, while the conventional route emits 1.93 kg CO₂ eq. per kg HNO₃ at the factory gate. When the solar share is over 60%, all plasma plant configurations emit lower carbon than the benchmark, reaching emissions as low as 0.99 kg CO₂ eq. per kg HNO₃ for the air-fed GAP reactor when the plant is powered 100% by solar PV. The results were also highly sensitive to future improvements in plasma electricity demand: a scenario reducing demand by 20% decreased climate change impacts by approximately 11-18%, with all four plasma configurations achieving lower impacts than the benchmark. Similar benefits were observed for ozone formation and terrestrial acidification. Seasonal variation in solar/grid share (18-64%) changed global warming impacts by approximately 43%. Plasma routes also showed higher toxicity and land use impacts, mainly due to electrical infrastructure and PV systems. Oxygen enrichment improved NO x yields but required additional energy for O₂ production; it became environmentally favourable only below approximately 0.5 kWh kg⁻¹ O₂. Elevated-pressure RGA operation at 4 bar substantially improved performance, reducing total plant energy cost by 43% and 27% for the 4 : 1 and 1 : 1 configurations, respectively, and lowering global warming impacts to 1.19 and 1.10 kg CO₂ eq. per kg HNO₃. Overall, plasma-based HNO₃ production shows strong low-carbon potential, particularly under elevated-pressure operation.
SN - 1463-9262
ER -