Production of Ammonia by Heterogeneous Catalysis in a Packed-Bed Dielectric-Barrier Discharge: Influence of Argon Addition and Voltage

Ammonia was synthesized from nitrogen and hydrogen in a dielectric-barrier discharge reactor packed with glass spheres and MgO pellets at atmospheric pressure. The addition of argon to nitrogen and hydrogen, and increasing the peak voltage, led to increases in discharge power and uniformity, gas temperature, and the fraction of hydrogen converted to ammonia.