TY - JOUR
T1 - Revealing the mechanism of indirect ammonia electrooxidation
AU - Gendel, Youri
AU - Lahav, Ori
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by Research Grant No. IS-4360-10 from BARD, The United States – Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund .
PY - 2012/2/29
Y1 - 2012/2/29
N2 - The governing mechanism of indirect ammonia electrooxidation has been often described similarly to breakpoint chlorination. However, comparison of the chloramine concentrations which develop in batch indirect ammonia electrolysis and classical breakpoint chlorination experiments (performed under similar conditions) suggests that the governing reactions are different. Three experimental sets were carried out with excess-ammonia solutions, with the aim of elucidating the mechanism of indirect electrochemical ammonia oxidation: (1) chloramination with Cl 2(g) and NaOCl; (2) batch- and (3) single-pass electrolysis experiments. Based on the results we propose a new mechanism for indirect ammonia electrooxidation, according to which trichloramine, rather than monochloramine, is the initial and primary product. NCl 3 apparently forms from a reaction between NH 4 + and Cl 2(aq), which occurs in the near anode area where pH is <2 and the bulk Cl - concentration is high. At such conditions Cl 2(aq) is the dominant active chlorine species in the anode vicinity. Upon formation in the near anode area NCl 3 decomposes to N 2, NH 2Cl and NHCl 2 in the bulk solution or/and close to the cathode surface area, where pH > 12. Under batch operation and/or single-pass electrolysis characterized by long contact times both NH 2Cl and NHCl 2 that form in the bulk electrolyte are oxidized to NCl 3 by Cl 2(aq) upon return to the near-anode zone.
AB - The governing mechanism of indirect ammonia electrooxidation has been often described similarly to breakpoint chlorination. However, comparison of the chloramine concentrations which develop in batch indirect ammonia electrolysis and classical breakpoint chlorination experiments (performed under similar conditions) suggests that the governing reactions are different. Three experimental sets were carried out with excess-ammonia solutions, with the aim of elucidating the mechanism of indirect electrochemical ammonia oxidation: (1) chloramination with Cl 2(g) and NaOCl; (2) batch- and (3) single-pass electrolysis experiments. Based on the results we propose a new mechanism for indirect ammonia electrooxidation, according to which trichloramine, rather than monochloramine, is the initial and primary product. NCl 3 apparently forms from a reaction between NH 4 + and Cl 2(aq), which occurs in the near anode area where pH is <2 and the bulk Cl - concentration is high. At such conditions Cl 2(aq) is the dominant active chlorine species in the anode vicinity. Upon formation in the near anode area NCl 3 decomposes to N 2, NH 2Cl and NHCl 2 in the bulk solution or/and close to the cathode surface area, where pH > 12. Under batch operation and/or single-pass electrolysis characterized by long contact times both NH 2Cl and NHCl 2 that form in the bulk electrolyte are oxidized to NCl 3 by Cl 2(aq) upon return to the near-anode zone.
KW - Ammonia electrooxidation mechanism
KW - Breakpoint chlorination
KW - Trichloramine formation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84856761764&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.electacta.2011.12.092
DO - 10.1016/j.electacta.2011.12.092
M3 - 文章
AN - SCOPUS:84856761764
VL - 63
SP - 209
EP - 219
JO - Electrochimica Acta
JF - Electrochimica Acta
SN - 0013-4686
ER -