High-Value Fertilizer Synthesis from Carbon Dioxide

The extensive use of fossil fuels is responsible for emitting the main culprit of climate change — carbon dioxide (CO2). As electricity generated from renewables becomes more accessible, CO2 conversion into valuable chemicals using electricity is being actively explored as an economically viable solution for mitigating climate change. Nitrogen-containing fertilizers support almost half of the world’s population. But its production requires ~2% global energy and tonnes of CO2 released from the production.
To create a new application for CO2 conversion and nitrogen contamination remediation, I propose to synthesize nitrogen fertilizers from CO2 and nitrates (common nitrogen contaminants). Recently, I have shown the possibility of our project in a laboratory-scale device. During the visit, I will work on scaling up our reaction to an industrial scale. And the long-term goal for this project is to replace current energy-consumptive production with my reaction.

Faculty Supervisor:

Oleksandr Voznyy

Student:

Partner:

Delft University of Technology

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Toronto

Program: