{"id":678596,"date":"2025-07-04T19:00:28","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T16:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/scientists-use-lightning-to-make-ammonia-out-of-thin-air\/"},"modified":"2025-07-04T19:00:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T16:00:28","slug":"scientists-use-lightning-to-make-ammonia-out-of-thin-air","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/scientists-use-lightning-to-make-ammonia-out-of-thin-air\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists use lightning to make ammonia out of thin air"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3737db15f74\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3737db15f74\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/scientists-use-lightning-to-make-ammonia-out-of-thin-air\/#The_chemical_process_that_fed_the_world_and_the_Sydney_team_look_to_revolutionize_it\" >The chemical process that fed the world, and the Sydney team look to revolutionize it<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/scientists-use-lightning-to-make-ammonia-out-of-thin-air\/#Cracking_a_chemical_conundrum\" >Cracking a chemical conundrum<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/using-lightning-to-mak.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2025\/using-lightning-to-mak.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"The electrolyser used as part of the new method to make 'green ammonia'.Credit. PJ Cullen\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/using-lightning-to-mak.jpg\" alt=\"Using lightning to make ammonia out of thin air\" title=\"The electrolyser used as part of the new method to make 'green ammonia'.Credit. PJ Cullen\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                The electrolyser used as part of the new method to make &#8216;green ammonia&#8217;.Credit. PJ Cullen<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>University of Sydney researchers have harnessed human-made lightning to develop a more efficient method of generating ammonia\u2014one of the world&#8217;s most important chemicals. Ammonia is also the main ingredient of fertilizers that account for almost half of all global food production.<\/p>\n<p>The research was published in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/anie.202508240\" target=\"_blank\"><i>Angewandte Chemie International edition<\/i><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The team have successfully developed a more straightforward method to produce ammonia (NH<sub>3<\/sub>) in gas form. Previous efforts by other laboratories produced ammonia in a solution (ammonium, NH<sub>4<\/sub><sup>+<\/sup>), which requires more energy and processes to transform it into the final gas product.<\/p>\n<p>The current method to generate ammonia, the Haber-Bosch process, comes at great climate cost, leaving a huge carbon footprint. It also needs to h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>en on a large scale and close to sources of cheap natural gas to make it cost-effective.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_chemical_process_that_fed_the_world_and_the_Sydney_team_look_to_revolutionize_it\"><\/span>The chemical process that fed the world, and the Sydney team look to revolutionize it<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Naturally occurring ammonia (mostly in the form of bird droppings) was once so high in demand it fueled wars.<\/p>\n<p>The invention of the Haber-Bosch process in the 19th century made human-made ammonia possible and revolutionized modern agriculture and industry. Currently, 90% of global ammonia production relies on the Haber-Bosch process.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Industry&#8217;s appetite for ammonia is only growing. For the past decade, the global scientific community, including our lab, has wanted to uncover a more sustainable way to produce ammonia that doesn&#8217;t rely on fossil fuels.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Currently, generating ammonia requires centralized production and long-distance transportation of the product. We need a low-cost, decentralized and scalable &#8216;green ammonia,'&#8221; said lead researcher Professor PJ Cullen from the University of Sydney&#8217;s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Net Zero Institute.<\/p>\n<p>His team has been working on &#8220;green ammonia&#8221; production for six years.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In this research we&#8217;ve successfully developed a method that allows air to be converted to ammonia in its gaseous form using electricity. A huge step towards our goals.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"mb-4\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\">\n    <meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Using lightning to make ammonia out of thin air\"\/><br \/>\n    <meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/video\/2025\/using-lightning-to-mak.mp4\"\/><br \/>\n    <meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"The plasma column used to kickstart the process for 'green ammonia' Credit: PJ Cullen\/ Plasmaleap\"\/><br \/>\n    <meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2025-07-04T04:18:55-04:00\"\/><br \/>\n        <meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/video_tmb\/2025\/using-lightning-to-mak.mp4.jpg\"\/><br \/>\n    <meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/video\/2025\/using-lightning-to-mak.mp4\"\/><br \/>\n            <video class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\" id=\"jwVID84167\" controls=\"\" poster=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/video_tmb\/2025\/using-lightning-to-mak.mp4.jpg\"><source src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/video\/2025\/using-lightning-to-mak.mp4\" type=\"video\/mp4\"><\/source><\/video><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up mt-4\" itemprop=\"caption\">The plasma column used to kickstart the process for &#8216;green ammonia&#8217; Credit: PJ Cullen\/ Plasmaleap<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ammonia contains three hydrogen molecules, meaning it can be used as an effective carrier and source of hydrogen as an energy source, even potentially as an effective means of storing and transporting hydrogen. Industry bodies have found they can access the hydrogen by &#8220;cracking&#8221; ammonia to separate the molecules to use the hydrogen.<\/p>\n<p>Ammonia is also a strong candidate for use as a carbon-free fuel due to its chemical make-up. This has caught the interest of the shipping industry, which is responsible for about 3% of all global greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cracking_a_chemical_conundrum\"><\/span>Cracking a chemical conundrum<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Professor Cullen&#8217;s team&#8217;s new method to generate ammonia works by harnessing the power of plasma, by electrifying or exciting the air.<\/p>\n<p>But the star is a membrane-based electrolyzer, a seemingly non-descript silver box, where the conversion to gaseous ammonia happens.<\/p>\n<p>During the Haber-Bosch process, ammonia (NH<sub>3<\/sub>) is made by combining nitrogen (N<sub>2<\/sub>) and hydrogen (H<sub>2<\/sub>) gases under high temperatures and pressure in the presence of a catalyst (a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction).<\/p>\n<p>The plasma-based method Professor Cullen&#8217;s team developed uses electricity to excite nitrogen and oxygen molecules in the air. The team then passes these excited molecules to the membrane-based electrolyzer to convert the excited molecules to ammonia.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers said this is a more straightforward pathway for ammonia production.<\/p>\n<p>Professor Cullen said the findings signal a new phase in making green ammonia possible. The team is now working on making the method more energy efficient and competitive compared to the Haber-Bosch process.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This new approach is a two-step process, namely combining plasma and electrolysis. We have already made the plasma component viable in terms of energy efficiency and scalability.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;To create a more complete solution to a sustainable ammonia productive, we need to push the energy efficiency of the electrolyzer component,&#8221; Professor Cullen said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-main__more p-4\">\n<p><strong>More information:<\/strong><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWanping Xu et al, Regulating Multifunctional Oxygen Vacancies for Plasma\u2010Driven Air\u2010to\u2010Ammonia Conversion, <i>Angewandte Chemie International Edition<\/i> (2025). <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-doi=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1002\/anie.202508240\" target=\"_blank\">DOI: 10.1002\/anie.202508240<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"d-inline-block text-medium mt-4\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvided by<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUniversity of Sydney<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"icon_open\" href=\"http:\/\/www.usyd.edu.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<use href=\"https:\/\/phys.b-cdn.net\/tmpl\/v6\/img\/svg\/sprite.svg#icon_open\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tScientists use lightning to make ammonia out of thin air (2025, July 4)<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 4 July 2025<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2025-07-scientists-lightning-ammonia-thin-air.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script id=\"facebook-jssdk\" async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-07-scientists-lightning-ammonia-thin-air.html\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The electrolyser used as part of the new method to make &#8216;green ammonia&#8217;.Credit. PJ Cullen University of Sydney researchers have harnessed human-made lightning to develop a more efficient method of generating ammonia\u2014one of the world&#8217;s most important chemicals. Ammonia is also the main ingredient of fertilizers that account for almost half of all global food&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":678597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2025\/using-lightning-to-mak.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-678596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=678596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678596\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/678597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=678596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=678596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=678596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}