Producing Ammonia by Rolling Steel Balls... A Century-Long Innovation

On-site Production Possible at Low Temperature and Low Pressure Without Elevated Facilities

Schematic Diagram of Ammonia Production Process Using Ball Milling Method

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] A technology has been developed that can produce ammonia by rolling small steel balls. This technology is expected to be commercialized as it can produce a large amount of ammonia at a lower cost than existing ammonia production methods and reduce carbon dioxide emissions associated with ammonia production.

On the 15th, a research team led by Professor Jongbeom Baek of the Department of Energy and Chemical Engineering at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology announced that they developed a technology to synthesize ammonia using the ball-milling method, which induces mechanochemical reactions through the physical force of small steel balls colliding. The related research results were published on the 14th in the international journal Nature Nanotechnology.

The process of ammonia production through ball milling and its recovery as a solid-state salt

The ammonia production method developed by the research team involves placing steel balls and iron powder in a container and rotating it while sequentially injecting nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas. The nitrogen gas decomposes on the surface of the iron powder activated by collisions with the rapidly rotating steel balls, and hydrogen attaches to it to generate ammonia.

Using this method, the research team reported producing ammonia with a high yield of 82.5% under low temperature and low pressure conditions of 45 degrees Celsius and 1 bar (a unit of pressure). Yield refers to the efficiency of obtaining the product from the reactants; the higher, the more economical. Compared to the conventional ammonia production process, the Haber-Bosch process, this method showed about three times higher yield at one two-hundredth the pressure and one-tenth the temperature. Ammonia production via the Haber-Bosch process typically achieves about 25% yield at 450 degrees Celsius and 200 bar.

Steel balls (ball milling) equipment used for ammonia production

Ammonia is one of the world's top 10 chemical substances used in the manufacture of fertilizers, explosives, plastics, and pharmaceuticals. Approximately 140 million tons of ammonia are produced worldwide annually, and recently it has been attracting significant attention as a hydrogen fuel storage medium, with demand expected to increase further.

Professor Jongbeom Baek said, "We have developed a simple ammonia production method that complements various drawbacks of the century-old ammonia production process (Haber-Bosch process)." He added, "Ammonia can be produced at various industrial sites without high-temperature and high-pressure facilities or carbon dioxide emissions, which can drastically reduce costs used for storage and transportation."

Professor Baek Jong-beom's research team (Photo by Baek Jong-beom, center)

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