Cascade catalysts from heavy bio-oil for plasma-catalytic NH3 synthesis
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PUBLIC SUMMARY
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Plasma-assisted ammonia synthesis (PAAS) operates under ambient conditions and supports distributed renewable energy storage, yet traditional PAAS catalysts suffer low efficiency and high costs.
Novel cascade porous Co-doped biochar catalysts (Co-PB) are fabricated from waste heavy bio-oil with uniform cobalt dispersion and abundant carbon-cobalt bonding.
Co-PB accelerates interfacial electron and radical transfer, reaching an ammonia synthesis rate of 1.605 mmol/g·h with outstanding cycling stability.
Economic and environmental evaluations verify the great application prospect of this waste-derived catalyst for sustainable green energy storage.
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ABSTRACT
Plasma-assisted ammonia synthesis (PAAS) enables the production of ammonia at ambient temperature and pressure by utilizing high-energy free electrons to break N≡N and H-H bonds. This process leverages green electricity and hydrogen, offering an efficient and distributed alternative for renewable energy storage. However, conventional catalysts used in PAAS (Al2O3, metal-organic frameworks, molecular sieves, etc.) suffer from low efficiency, poor cycling performance, and high cost. Herein, we design and develop novel cascade porous biochar-based catalysts (Co-PB) derived from waste heavy bio-oil through catalytic pyrolysis by using cobalt nitrate as a pyrolysis catalyst, giving rise to a highly porous structure with uniformly distributed Co in Co-PB. The good mobility of heavy bio-oil ensures homogeneous C-Co bonds, which further enhances the transfer kinetics of the interfacial electron and the radical. As a result, Co-PB achieves a high PAAS rate of 1.605 mmol/g·h and exhibits excellent stability and cyclability under harsh electric fields. Economic and environmental assessments highlight the significant potential of PAAS for sustainable hydrogen and electricity storage. -
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Gong F., Bao J., Jing Y., et al. (2026). Cascade catalysts from heavy bio-oil for plasma-catalytic NH3 synthesis. The Innovation Energy 3:100178. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-energy.2026.100178
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Gong F., Bao J., Jing Y., et al. (2026). Cascade catalysts from heavy bio-oil for plasma-catalytic NH3 synthesis. The Innovation Energy 3:100178. https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-energy.2026.100178
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Figure 1.
Schematic diagram of the green ammonia industry using the distributed renewable electricity (wind, solar, etc.): valorizing heavy bio-oil, an industrial by-product, for green ammonia synthesis, aiming to break the limits of the centralized Haber-Bosch process.
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Figure 2.
(A) Schematic plot of the route to fabricate Co-PB-x: Co-PB is the biochar obtained using co-catalytic pyrolysis with the addition of cobalt nitrate as catalyst. SEM images of the catalysts prepared from the different methods: (B) PB-3, (C) Co-PB-3-IM, (D) Co-PB-3; (E) TEM images of Co-PB-3; (F) XRD patterns of Co-PB-3 and PB-3.
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Figure 3.
The PAAS performance of the different catalysts
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Figure 4.
SEM images and gas radical transport performance of
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Figure 5.
Environmental and economic competitiveness analysis of PAAS
