Highly efficient nitrogen fixation enabled by an atmospheric pressure rotating gliding arc

A rotating gliding arc is proposed as a promising alternative to enable direct nitrogen fixation from ubiquitous air under mild conditions. The effect of different process parameters on NO x generation and energy consumption has been investigated through a combination of experiments and artificial neural network (ANN) modeling. The optical emission spectroscopic diagnostics together with electrical diagnostics and high‐speed photography has been used to understand the variation of the discharge characteristics. The lowest energy consumption of NO x production (4.2 MJ/mol) is achieved at a gas flow rate of 12 L/min and an O2 concentration of 20 vol%. The simulation results from the ANN model show a good agreement with the experimental data and the model enables us to evaluate the relative importance of the process parameters to the reaction performance. Different from previous Haber‐Bosch process (HBP) to obtained nitrogen compounds, a new sustainable conception of nitrogen fixation is proposed. Intermittent renewable energy (solar, wind, etc.) or valley electricity could provide cheap power support, and air is directly used as nitrogen source. With the assist of rotating gliding arc (RGA), low energy cost (4.2 MJ/mol) with a considerable processing capacity can be anticipated for fixing nitrogen into NOx in a very flexible and simple way without emission of CO2. The generated NOx can be further reacted with emitted NH3 from farmland, to recapture the escaping N back into soil for agriculture and maintain fertility in soil. Compared with HBP requiring complex facilities and concentrated energy support, RGA provide a simple alternative of distributed nitrogen fixation for remote and undeveloped countries.