Research progress on plasma-catalytic hydrogen production from ammonia: Influencing factors and reaction mechanism

Applying clean energy is one of the feasible paths to achieve the "dual carbon target". Hydrogen energy, as an efficient and clean energy, is a new growth point for creating industrial transformation and upgrading. Ammonia is recognized as a zero-carbon hydrogen energy carrier, and utilizing hydrogen through hydrogen production from ammonia decomposition is one of the effective ways to safely store, transport and utilize hydrogen energy. In addition, there are many methods to realize the hydrogen production from ammonia, among which the method based on the combination of non-thermal plasma (NTP) and catalyst can reduce the reaction temperature, significantly improve ammonia (NH3) conversion efficiency and hydrogen energy yield. As one of the methods with good application prospects, the interaction between NTP and catalyst in this method is complicated, and the efficiency of hydrogen production from ammonia is also affected by various factors, which restricts application of the method. In order to provide new ideas for the development and commercial application of NTP-catalytic technology for ammonia decomposition, this paper reviews the progress of NTP-catalytic hydrogen production from ammonia based on a systematic and integrated literature review methodology, analyses the effects of process parameters, temperature, catalyst, and other factors on the efficiency of plasma-catalytic ammonia decomposition, and discusses the plasma source and the mechanism of plasma-catalytic ammonia decomposition reaction. Finally, the opportunities and challenges of this plasma catalysis method are described.