Research progress of electrocatalytic reduction of nitrate in wastewater to ammonia

Abstract

As a common pollutant in surface and groundwater，nitrate causes serious pollution to the environment. Electrocatalytic reduction of nitrate to ammonia promotes nitrogen cycle in water. The research progress of transition metal，noble metal and non-metal catalysts for nitrate reduction to ammonia was reviewed. A large number of cases in this field were collected，and the reasons for the high efficiency of electrode materials were analyzed. The reaction mechanism，electrode preparation method，operating conditions，nitrate removal rate and selectivity of electrocatalytic reduction of nitrate to ammonia were reviewed. The influencing factors such as electrode potential，nitrate concentration，pH，current density and supporting electrolyte were analyzed. The reactor form of electrocatalytic reduction of nitrate to ammonia and the production process of product ammonia were compared. The production energy consumption in the example was compared. Finally，the challenges and prospects in this field were discussed.

Keywords

• electrocatalytic reduction
• nitrate
• wastewater treatment