biostudies-literatureMuzammil IKorea Institute of Machinery and MaterialsKorea Institute of Science and Technology12729-12738https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8696960biostudies-literatureUnknown11(21)Plasma-assisted nitrogen fixation is a promising sustainable and clean alternative to the classical Haber-Bosch process. However, the high energy consumption and low production rate of plasma-assisted nitrogen fixation limit its application. This study shows that the non-thermal (non-equilibrium) enhancement of the arc plasma significantly reduces the energy consumption of nitrogen fixation. The highest energy efficiency with high NO selectivity is observed with a low specific energy input (SEI). However, the highest production rate is reached at a high SEI. The studied process offers high NO selectivity (up to 95%) with low energy consumption (∼48 GJ per tN) at 0.1 kJ L^-1 SEI, which is much lower than the previously reported value of plasma-assisted atmospheric nitrogen fixatioRSC advancesA novel energy efficient path for nitrogen fixation using a non-thermal arc.PMC86969602E30860-20-P050NK225FMuzammil IChoi SKang HKim YNLee DHSong YHDinh DKRoh SAJung CfalseA novel energy efficient path for nitrogen fixation using a non-thermal arc.Plasma-assisted nitrogen fixation is a promising sustainable and clean alternative to the classical Haber-Bosch process. However, the high energy consumption and low production rate of plasma-assisted nitrogen fixation limit its application. This study shows that the non-thermal (non-equilibrium) enhancement of the arc plasma significantly reduces the energy consumption of nitrogen fixation. The highest energy efficiency with high NO selectivity is observed with a low specific energy input (SEI). However, the highest production rate is reached at a high SEI. The studied process offers high NO selectivity (up to 95%) with low energy consumption (∼48 GJ per tN) at 0.1 kJ L^-1 SEI, which is much lower than the previously reported value of plasma-assisted atmospheric nitrogen fixatio2021-01-01T00:00:00Z2021 Mar2025-04-22T09:17:03.379Z2025-04-05T22:58:05.333ZS-EPMC86969603542379610.1039/d1ra01357b