Production of ammonia via chemical looping process based on metal imides as nitrogen carriers

Ammonia is an excellent carbon-free chemical eligible to be transported and stored as renewable energy. Any process operated under modest industrial conditions is considered the best process for ammonia production. Ammonia synthesis with the chemical looping process operates at moderate conditions compared with the present ammonia synthesis process, which operates under tough operating conditions. Chemical looping is a two-step process that requires earth metal imides, such as alkali and alkaline, to act as nitrogen carriers for the ammonia generation system. The process operates under reasonable operating conditions, at a temperature of 100°C and a pressure of 1.0atm. The first step starts with using alkali or alkaline earth metal hydrides to reduce N2; the fixed nitrogen results in the formation of imides. The second step is for the produced imides to be hydrogenated and redevelop metal hydrides. This process will result in the production of NH3 and the regeneration of the metal hydrides. The chemical looping process offers a promising and effective way of achieving an efficient harvesting and storage of renewable energy.