Geological ammonia: Stimulated NH3 production from rocks

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By Yifan Gao et al, Joule. 

Paper summary: Although ammonia production is crucial for global agriculture, it comes with substantial carbon footprints. [ammonia production is the chemical industry’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter] Here, for the first time, we propose and demonstrate a different method for stimulated (proactive) and in situ geological ammonia (Geo-NH3) production directly from rocks. Our approach demonstrated that NH3 can be efficiently generated by reacting natural (Fe,Mg)2SiO4 (olivine) minerals with nitrate-source water at 130°C–300°C and 0.25–8.5 MPa, and even at ambient temperature and pressure. Using both actual rocks and synthetic mineral Fe(OH)2, we investigated mechanisms and optimized conditions through experiments and theoretical calculations. We revealed the basic chemistry enabling Geo-NH3 production: Fe2+ contained in rocks reduces the nitrate source to NH3. Our approach, involving only the injection of nitrate-source water into the subsurface to utilize in situ subsurface heat and pressure, requires no external H2 or electric current and emits no direct CO2, offering a feasible alternative to sustainable NH3 production at scale.... 

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