Chinese team converts wastewater to ammonia

May 11, 2026

A research team in China has unveiled an innovative technology that transforms nitrate-rich wastewater into ammonia, creating a more sustainable and cost-effective approach to fertilizer production. Because ammonia is a key ingredient in urea fertilizer, this breakthrough could significantly reshape how industries manage waste while reducing energy consumption and environmental pollution.

Industrial and agricultural wastewater often contains high concentrations of nitrate generated from fertilizer runoff, livestock waste, chemical manufacturing, and sewage treatment processes. Excess nitrate contamination can seep into groundwater systems, creating serious health and environmental risks for both humans and animals. Traditionally, removing nitrate from wastewater has required expensive and energy-intensive treatment methods.

Instead of treating nitrate solely as waste, the Chinese scientists recognized it as a valuable nitrogen resource. Their goal was to recover this nitrogen and convert it into useful ammonia, creating a circular and environmentally friendly fertilizer production system.

Innovative wastewater-to-ammonia technology

Ammonia is one of the world’s most essential industrial chemicals, widely used in fertilizer manufacturing, explosives, refrigeration systems, industrial chemicals, and emerging hydrogen energy technologies. However, conventional ammonia production depends heavily on the Haber-Bosch process, which combines nitrogen and hydrogen under extremely high temperatures and pressures.

The Haber-Bosch method relies largely on natural gas and accounts for approximately 1–2% of global energy consumption. Developing a process that produces ammonia directly from wastewater nitrate could dramatically reduce energy demand, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and decrease reliance on imported raw materials.

At the center of this breakthrough is a highly advanced dual-atom catalyst (DAC), designed to accelerate and improve the nitrate-to-ammonia conversion process. Unlike traditional catalysts that typically use single-atom materials or nanoparticles, the DAC uses paired atoms that work together more efficiently during complex chemical reactions.

AI-powered catalyst discovery improves efficiency

The research team also integrated artificial intelligence (AI) into the development process. Instead of performing thousands of time-consuming laboratory experiments, AI algorithms helped identify the most promising atom combinations for catalyst testing. This approach significantly reduced development time and improved research efficiency.

According to the scientists, the newly developed catalyst is nearly three times more efficient than comparable existing technologies. Higher efficiency could lead to increased ammonia production rates, better nitrate conversion performance, and reduced chemical waste.

The innovation offers multiple environmental and economic benefits simultaneously. It helps remove dangerous nitrate pollutants from wastewater while producing valuable fertilizer materials using far less energy than traditional ammonia manufacturing methods.

Challenges remain before commercial use

Despite the promising results, the technology is still in the experimental stage. So far, the catalyst has only been tested under controlled laboratory conditions and in small-scale batches.

Researchers still need to determine whether the process can operate effectively in real-world wastewater treatment facilities, scale for industrial use, and handle additional contaminants commonly found in wastewater streams beyond nitrate alone.

If future testing proves successful, this technology could become a major advancement in sustainable fertilizer production, wastewater treatment, and clean industrial chemistry.