Designing Single-Atom Catalysts for Renewable Power and Waste Conversion to Urea

April 26th, 2023

R&D Focus Areas:
Electrolysis, Synthetic fuels and chemicals

Lead Organisation:
University of New South Wales (Sydney), NSW Office of Chief Scientist and Engineer

Partners:
Not applicable

Status:
Active

Start date:
June 2023

Completion date:
May 2026

Key contacts:
Dr Rahman Daiyan: r.daiyan@unsw.edu.au

Funding:
Australian Research Council Discovery – Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) Program

Project total cost:
AUD$363,000 (from Australian Research Council)

Project summary description:
This project aims to develop a decentralised urea production system that will convert waste resources (including carbon dioxide and wastewater) into urea using renewable energy, enabling a circular economy. By developing this one-step pathway, this DECRA project aims to address the current shortage of urea in the country (Australia is an importer of urea), that is affecting both agriculture sector where urea is used as fertiliser and in mining industry where the chemical is used to reduce emissions (AdBlue).

Through established industry-academia linkages and engagements, both scientific and commercial prospects of the project will be communicated to bring this technology into industry. Deployment of such renewable urea modules in regional locations will allow for decarbonisation of the country’s agriculture industry (a major contributor to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions) by minimising requirement for transportation to farms and avoiding the need for high-emission conventional fossil-fuel based urea production.

Related publications and key links:

  1. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aenm.202401786
  2. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adma.202405029
  3. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/smll.202401333
  4. Enhanced Nitrate-to-Ammonia Activity on Fe/ZnO Nanoparticles via Tuning Intermediate Adsorption in Alkaline Electrolyte” (10.1002/adfm.202408704). Accepted, Advanced Functional Materials.

Higher degree studies supported:
Two PhD students will be supported by this project.

 

Reviewed: August 2024