Electrosynthesis of nitrate from the nitric oxide on a gas diffusion electrode with a ZnO/carbon black catalyst

Abstract

Nitrate consumption is continuously increasing as it serves as a raw material for nitrogen fertilizers and chemical industries. The Haber-Bosch process and the Ostwald process, which are currently used for the production of nitrates, have the drawbacks of high energy consumption and substantial carbon dioxide emissions. If nitrate could be synthesized electrochemically using nitric oxide, which is a primary air pollutant, it would offer the advantage of requiring less energy while simultaneously removing nitric oxide. In this work, a gas diffusion electrode was utilized to effectively carry out the electrochemical oxidation of nitric oxide, which has low solubility. ZnO/Carbon black catalyst was selected for the nitric oxide oxidation reaction (NOOR) catalyst and optimal conditions for the NOOR process were tested.