Electrochemical C-N coupling process: Urea synthesis from direct air carbon capture with nitrate wastewater

• Grant number: 24/22463-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: December 10, 2025
• End date: December 09, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Lucia Helena Mascaro Sales
• Grantee: Isabelle Maria Duarte Gonzaga
• Supervisor: Rosa Maria Llusar Barelles
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universitat Jaume I, Spain
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/06318-7 - ELECTROCATALYTIC PRODUCTION OF GREEN AMMONIA FROM THE SELECTIVE CONVERSION OF NITROGEN OXIDES, BP.PD

Abstract

The alarming increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions has been met with urgent calls from the scientific community and global companies. As a solution, CO2 capture and conversion could adequately convert part of the gas into substances useful to humans. Furthermore, groundwater contamination with nitrate is an imminent risk to human health, so the treatment of this water is of fundamental importance. Therefore, it is necessary to study the integration of CO2 capture and electrochemical co-reduction of CO2 and NO3-, reusing these pollutants to generate urea, meeting some sustainable development goals (ODS 6, 7 and 13). The electrochemical reduction of these species has several advantages, such as: they operate at ambient temperature and pressure; they can use clean and environmentally friendly energy. Therefore, this project aims to develop and understand the concomitant reduction of atmospheric CO2 captured from the air and NO3- present in contaminated waters in a flow electrochemical reactor to generate urea, one of today's most widely used byproducts. The use of continuous flow reactors in this project is essential, as it allows precise control of reaction parameters, such as flow and temperature, resulting in greater efficiency, reproducibility and process safety. This format enables continuous scale production, minimizing waste and improving energy and resource management. It is promising for industrial-scale development (AU)