Objective
Nitric acid, given its importance in the manufacture of fertilizers, is one of the most important chemical commodities on an international scale, with an annual production volume of around 55 million tons (2014) and a market value close to 13 billion USD (2016). The e-NOX project aims to develop an innovative technology that allows the revaluation of materials that are currently unwanted by-products of nitric acid production, as well as their conversion into raw materials from the same process. This technology will also allow the valuation of greenhouse gases N2O and NOx, through their electrochemical processing.
Methodology
The project is based on several research and development activities in a laboratory environment involving the preparation, characterization and testing of reduction electrocatalysts, oxidation electrocatalysts, and electrolytic membranes conducting oxygen ions. Subsequently, the design, construction and testing of a pilot scale reactor will be developed and the work developed will be promoted through a dissemination, communication and exploration plan.
Ambition and expected results
With this project, Bondalti contributes, together with the other partners, to:
1. Development of sustainable processes, materials and systems with greater added value
2. Efficient use of resources and reduction of environmental impact in production processes
3. Industrial modernization through the Circular Economy
4. Eliminate the release of greenhouse gases N 2O and NOx, promoting their reincorporation into the production process, generating electrical and thermal energy
5. Reduction and reuse of industrial waste in all industries that produce and use nitric acid in their processes
Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals
