dr. K.H.R. Rouwenhorst (Kevin)

An enthusiastic, open-minded engineer who completed his PhD on plasma-enhanced catalytic ammonia synthesis at the University of Twente in 2022. Graduated from the University of Twente (MSc Chemical & Process Engineering). Currently working at Koolen Industries as Technology Expert Power-to-X and Technology Manager at the Ammonia Energy Association, and visiting researcher at the University of Twente.

Engineering & Materials Science

# Ammonia
# Catalysis
# Electricity
# Plasmas

Earth & Environmental Sciences

# Ammonia
# Plasma

Chemistry

# Ammonia
# Plasma

Faculty of Science and Technology (TNW), Catalytic Processes and Materials (CPM)

Plasma-enhanced catalytic ammonia synthesis

Ammonia may be one of the energy carriers for the hydrogen economy. However, the activation of dinitrogen is difficult and the conventional ammonia synthesis occurs high temperatures and high pressures (400-500°C and 100-450 bar). Therefore, alternative technologies are studied, especially for small-scale, on-demand applications.

Plasma-enhanced catalysis is an emerging technology to overcome scaling relations in heterogeneous catalysis. The bond in dinitrogen can be activated by a plasma, allowing for milder ammonia synthesis conditions. However, plasma-catalyst interactions are complex and not well understood. In the current study, plasma-enhanced catalytic ammonia synthesis is studied from the catalysis perspective.

Manaigo, F. , Rouwenhorst, K. H. R., Bogaerts, A., & Snyders, R. (2024). Feasibility study of a small-scale fertilizer production facility based on plasma nitrogen fixation. Energy conversion and management, 302, Article 118124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2024.118124

Rouwenhorst, K. H. R., Tabak, S. , & Lefferts, L. (2024). Improving the energy yield of plasma-based NOX synthesis with in situ adsorption. Reaction chemistry & engineering, 9, 528-531. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3RE00593C

van 't Noordende, H., Tubben, G. , Rouwenhorst, K. H. R., & Fruytier, M. (2024). Clean Ammonia Roadmap.

Rouwenhorst, K. H. R. , & Lefferts, L. (2024). Plasma-based conversions with in situ product removal. Plasma processes and polymers, 21(1), Article 2200244. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppap.202200244

Rouwenhorst, K. H. R., Jardali, F., Bogaerts, A. , & Lefferts, L. (2023). Correction: From the Birkeland-Eyde process towards energy-efficient plasma-based NO X synthesis: a techno-economic analysis. Energy & environmental science, 16(12), 6170-6173. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3EE90066E

David, W. I. F., Agnew, G. D., Bañares-Alcántara, R., Barth, J., Hansen, J. B., Bréquigny, P., de Joannon, M., Fürstenberg Stott, S., Fürstenberg Stott, C., Guati-Rojo, A., Hatzell, M., MacFarlane, D. R., Makepeace, J. W., Mastorakos, E., Mauss, F., Medford, A. J., Mounaïm-Rousselle, C., Nowicki, D. A., Picciani, M. A., ... Valera-Medina, A. (2023). 2023 Roadmap on ammonia as a carbon-free fuel. Journal of Physics: Energy. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7655/ad0a3a

Sagel, V. , Rouwenhorst, K. H. R. , & Faria Albanese, J. A. (2023). Leveraging Green Ammonia for Resilient and Cost-Competitive Islanded Electricity Generation from Hybrid Solar Photovoltaic−Wind Farms: A Case Study in South Africa. Energy & fuels, 37(18), 14383-14392. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.3c01950

Saygin, D., Blanco, H., Boshell, F., Cordonnier, J. , Rouwenhorst, K. H. R., Lathwal, P., & Gielen, D. (2023). Ammonia Production from Clean Hydrogen and the Implications for Global Natural Gas Demand. Sustainability (Switzerland), 15(2), Article 1623. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021623

Rouwenhorst, K. H. R. , & Lefferts, L. (2023). Plasma-catalytic Ammonia Synthesis via Eley-Rideal Reactions: A Kinetic Analysis. ChemCatChem, 15(12), Article e202300078. https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.202300078

Rouwenhorst, K. H. R. (2022). Developments in renewable ammonia production: Implications for the fertiliser industry. In 2022 IFS Anniversary Conference

Rouwenhorst, K.H.R., Van der Ham, A.G.J., Mul, G., Kersten, S.R.A., Power-to-Ammonia-to-Power (P2A2P) for Local Electricity Storage in 2025, NH3 Fuel Conference. Oral Presentation. (2018)

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