Tag Archives: NH3 Production: Renewable

Solid Oxide Cell Enabled Ammonia Synthesis and Ammonia Based Power Production

John B. Hansen
Haldor Topsøe, Denmark

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 2, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

Haldor Topsøe’s leading role as supplier of ammonia synthesis catalysts and technology is well known. The company has, however, also been active for decades in developing Solid Oxide Cell based stacks and systems.

The presentation will describe a novel, highly integrated process for ammonia synthesis based on Solid Oxide Electrolysis. The energy efficiency is very high due to ability of the SOEC to use steam generated from the synthesis reaction heat in the ammonia synthesis loop and the favorable thermodynamics of high temperature electrolysis. Continue reading

Process Synthesis and Global Optimization of Novel Ammonia Production Processes

Doga Demirhan*, William Tso, Efstratios Pistikopoulos
Texas A&M University, United States

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 2, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

Synthetic ammonia production has played a huge role in sustaining population growth by providing the nitrogen in fertilizers that are widely used in modern agriculture. Even long after it was first commercially developed by Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch in the 1930s, the Haber-Bosch process remains the basis for industrial ammonia production today. Through reducing energy requirements by half in the last 50 years, centralized industrial plants have kept their technical and economic advantage over other modes of operation. However, the centralized production also comes with high transportation costs, since plant capacities usually exceed local ammonia consumption [1]. This and the fact that conventional ammonia production is a major contributor of world greenhouse gas emissions (due to natural gas being one of its feedstocks) are motivating factors for researchers to consider alternative methods for smaller-scale and more environmentally-friendly ammonia production [2]. Continue reading

Our Iowa Renewable Hydrogen and Ammonia Generation System

Jay Schmuecker1*, David Toyne2*
[1] Pinehurst Farm; and [2] Solutions for Automation, United States

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 2, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

The presentation will summarize the development of the demonstration size renewable fuel and fertilizer system on my Iowa farm. Solar power, water, and air are used to make hydrogen and ammonia fuel used to power a modified John Deere 7810 tractor. The ammonia can also be used to fertilize corn cropland. The development of the ammonia reactor will be described and its performance discussed. There are no carbon emissions in either the generation or consumption of the hydrogen and ammonia. Continue reading

Dense Metallic Membrane Reactor Synthesis of Ammonia at Moderate Conditions and Low Cost

Thomas Fuerst*, Sean Lundin, Zhenyu Zhang, Simona Liguori, Douglas Way, Colin Wolden
Colorado School of Mines, United States

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 2, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

Commercial ammonia synthesis relies on the Haber–Bosch process that has remained largely unchanged for a hundred years. The equilibrium constant of this exothermic reaction quickly becomes unfavorable above 200 °C, but the catalyst requires temperatures above 400 °C to have sufficient activity. To overcome these conflicting requirements the process is conducted at extremely high pressure (100 – 200 atm) using multiple passes with inter-stage cooling to achieve sufficient conversion. A cost analysis reveals the compressors needed to reach the required pressures consist of 50% the capital cost for Haber-Bosch. Therefore, a longstanding scientific challenge has been to achieve NH3 synthesis at near ambient pressure which could reduce the ammonia production cost by as much as 30%. Continue reading

Nitride-Based Step Catalysis for Ammonia Synthesis at Atmospheric Pressure

Peter Pfromm, Michael Heidlage*, Bin Liu, Nannan Shan, Viktor Chikan, Hongfu Luo, Nate Flesher
Kansas State University, United States

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 2, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

Formation of metal nitrides to activate dinitrogen is one avenue to ammonia and other nitrogen compounds. Attractive aspects are operation at atmospheric pressure and moderate temperatures, formation of stable chemical intermediates rather than reliance on somewhat sensitive heterogeneous catalysis, and inexpensive materials. If a single metal is used, however, one encounters tradeoffs somewhat akin to the well-known tradeoffs for Haber-Bosch catalysts. Results will be presented for metal nitride-based ammonia synthesis, and new metal alloys that can address some of the tradeoffs between affinity for nitrogen, and formation of ammonia when hydrogen is added. Options using water instead of hydrogen will also be included. Continue reading

Exploring Peptide-Bound Catalysts for Electrochemical Ammonia Generation

Charles Loney1*, Ashley Graybill1, Cheyan Xu1, Julie Renner1, Prashant Acharya2, David Suttmiller2, Lauren Greenlee2, Luke Wiles3, Katherine Ayers3, Wayne Gellett3
[1] Case Western Reserve University; [2] University of Arkansas; and [3] Proton OnSite, United States

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 2, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

Today, most ammonia (NH3) manufacturing occurs via the Haber-Bosch process. This process consumes hydrogen from fossil fuels, and as a result NH3 contributes the highest amount of greenhouse gas emissions out of the top 18 large-volume chemicals made globally. Because the process is high temperature (400°–500°C) and pressure (150–300 atm) with a low (15%) single-pass conversion efficiency, the plants have to be very large to be economical. This means that ammonia is shipped from centralized locations, further increasing greenhouse gas emissions because of the fuel consumed in transportation. Additionally, their large size makes it difficult to integrate with renewable sources of hydrogen, such as electrolysis. Continue reading

Load Range Enhancement of Haber-Bosch Process Designs for NH3 Sustainable Energy Storage By Multi-Parametric Optimization

Izzat Iqbal Cheema*, Florian Baakes, Ulrike Krewer
Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 2, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

With the world’s major shift towards renewable energy, the need of chemicals-based energy storage has drastically increased, as renewable energy is intermittent and energy storage medium is required. Among several chemical energy storage options, ammonia is promising for renewable energy on utility-scale. The Haber-Bosch ammonia synthesis was the first heterogeneous catalytic system employed in the chemical industry and developed over a period of century. However, the conventional ammonia process has been designed and optimized for steady state operation and high capacity. Power-to-ammonia requires a more flexible operation, small size reactors and decentralized production. Continue reading

LiH Mediated Ammonia Synthesis Under Mild Condition

Jianping Guo, Ping Chen*
Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, China

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 2, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

Having a hydrogen content of 17.6 wt% NH3 is an attractive hydrogen carrier. The key issue for NH3 synthesis and decomposition is the development of non-noble metal based, highly active and stable catalysts that can be operated under mild condition. With the understanding on the interaction of LiH and Li2NH with 3d metals or their nitrides, novel catalyst systems, i. e., LiH-3d transition metals for NH3 synthesis and Li2NH-3d transition metal for NH3 decomposition, that have activities surpassing the highly active Ru-based catalysts were developed. The unique chemistry among TM, Li, N and H creates a two-reactive center mediated pathway favouring NH3 synthesis / decomposition over both early and late 3d transition metals under mild condition, i.e., detectable NH3 formation rates can be obtained at 150 °C over the Mn-, Fe- and Co-LiH composite catalysts, respectively. The characterization of intermediate phases and surface clusters of the catalysts allow the elucidation of the step-wise reaction pathway and the interpretation of catalytic mechanism. Continue reading

High Efficiency Electrochemical Synthesis of Ammonia from Nitrogen at Ambient Temperature and Pressure

Greg Redden*, Fengling Zhou, Luis Azofra, Muataz Ali, Mega Kar, Alexandr Simonov, Ciaran McDonnell, Chenghua Sun, Angeline Bartholomeusz, Xinyi Zhang, Douglas MacFarlane
Monash University, Australia

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 2, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

Ammonia as well as being an important fertiliser is being increasingly considered as an easily transported carrier of hydrogen energy. However, the traditional Haber-Bosch process for the production of ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen and fossil fuels is a high temperature and pressure process that is energy intensive. Newer technology is being investigated to produce sustainable ammonia from green energy. An ambient temperature, electrochemical synthesis of ammonia is an attractive alternative approach, but has, to date, not been achieved at high efficiency. Researchers from Monash University have obtained faradaic efficiency as high as 60% using liquid salt electrolytes under ambient conditions, viz. 25°C and 1 atmosphere pressure. We are developing a range of scaled prototypes for this technology. Continue reading

Design of Iron-Nickel Nanocatalysts for Low-Temperature Electrochemical Ammonia Generation

Lauren Greenlee1*, Shelby Foster1, Prashant Acharya1, David Suttmiller1, Charles Loney2, Julie Renner2, Wayne Gellett3, Katherine Ayers3
[1] University of Arkansas; [2] Case Western Reserve University; and [3] Proton OnSite, United States

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 2, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

The Haber-Bosch industrial process for ammonia production is the cornerstone of modern commercial-fertilizer-based agriculture. Haber-Bosch ammonia fueled the global population growth of the 20th century, and approximately half of the nitrogen in human bodies today originates from ammonia-based fertilizer produced by the Haber-Bosch process. However, the Haber-Bosch process operates at high temperature and high pressure to achieve high conversion efficiencies, and the hydrogen input comes from steam reforming of coal or natural gas. In addition to the energy costs, the large production of carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas and the large required economies of scale motivate research efforts to explore other possible options for ammonia production. One potential option is low temperature electrochemical synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen and water. An electrochemical process that directly synthesizes ammonia molecules from nitrogen gas and the hydrogen atoms of water molecules would eliminate the need for fossil-fuel-based hydrogen as a reactant and decrease CO2 emissions. Further, an electrochemical system based on already-developed technology in the fuel cell and electrolysis arenas would enable a modular, scalable, and energy efficient process that could be connected to renewables (i.e., wind or solar) as the energy input. Continue reading