GREEN NITRIC ACID
Reinventing nitric acid production
Technology Overview
Arctura is developing green nitric acid plants to compete with conventional nitric acid sources and limit curtailment of renewable energy production. A low-temperature plasma generator is used to produce nitric acid using only air, water, and electricity. Arctura’s process will reduce the energy consumed and eliminate the greenhouse gases emitted in the production of fertilizers and other common products.
The Challenge
The Haber-Bosch process, used to make ammonia feedstock for fertilizer and explosives, is a thermal process powered by natural gas. It feeds the growing global population, but accounts for 1-2% of worldwide energy use and emits 300 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. About 15% of the ammonia made via Haber-Bosch is used for production of nitric acid. As the world shifts away from fossil fuels, large-scale chemical production that relies on thermal processes and emits greenhouse gases should be electrified.
The Opportunity
Low Temperature Plasma (LTP) processes are a viable approach to electrifying production and reducing the carbon footprint of nitric acid. Using air and electricity to generate nitrogen dioxide from plasma, and then reacting with water to make nitric acid, bypasses the Haber-Bosch process entirely. LTP can consume half the amount of energy of Haber-Bosch and eliminate carbon dioxide emissions by using water instead of natural gas as the source of hydrogen.
Flexible and Scalable
Green nitric acid plants based on LTP processes can be small or large and can be rapidly turned on and off. Decentralized nitric acid production is possible as large-scale production is not required and enables collocation at the point of use, thus avoiding transportation-related costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The rapid response of the plants means collocation with low-priced renewable energy can limit curtailment and stranded energy for owners of solar and wind farms.
Contact us to learn more about our plans to demonstrate and commercialize our green nitric acid technology.
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