Category Archives: Conference Paper

Nitrogenase Inspired Peptide-Functionalized Catalyst for Efficient, Emission-Free Ammonia Production

Posted on October 1, 2017 by | 1 comment

Stephen Szymanski*, Wayne Gellett
Proton OnSite, United States

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 1, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

Ammonia-based fertilizers have enabled increases in food production to sustain the world’s population. Currently the major source of ammonia is the Haber-Bosch process, which requires high temperature and pressure and has low conversion efficiency, such that very large plants are required for economical production. Ammonia is therefore one of the most energy and carbon intensive chemical processes worldwide, largely due to the steam methane reforming step to produce the required hydrogen. Because of the very large plant scale and resulting centralization of production, ammonia may also be transported long distances to point of use, adding additional energy and emissions. Distributed, sustainable ammonia production would therefore have a huge impact on global energy use and related carbon emissions. Electrochemical solutions are well-suited to modularity and integration with renewable energy sources and can operate at much milder temperatures and pressures, but a catalyst is needed which is selective to ammonia generation vs competing reactions. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Conference Paper

Tagged , ,

Lower Pressure Ammonia Synthesis

Posted on October 1, 2017 by | 2 comments

Mahdi Malmali1*, Alon McCormick1, Edward L. Cussler1, Joshua Prince1, Mike Reese2
[1] University of Minnesota; [2] University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center, United States

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 1, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

Ammonia is a very important chemical, mainly produced through the Haber-Bosch process. This process requires high temperature (>400 °C) and pressure (>150 bar) in order to ensure fast kinetics and high conversions, respectively.1 As a result, ammonia synthesis is known to be very complex and energy-intensive.2 To alleviate the complexity and energy requirements of ammonia synthesis, and to reduce the CO2 emissions, we are proposing an innovative reaction-absorption process to synthesize carbon-free ammonia in small plants.3 This green ammonia can be synthesized in wind-powered plants, with hydrogen from electrolysis of water and nitrogen from pressure swing adsorption of air.4 Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Conference Paper

Tagged , ,

Fast-Ramping Reactor for CO2-Free NH3 Synthesis

Posted on October 1, 2017 by | 4 comments

Joseph Beach1*, Jonathan Kintner1, Adam Welch1, Jason Ganley2, Ryan O’Hayre2
[1] Starfire Energy; and [2] Colorado School of Mines, United States

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 1, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

Starfire Energy is developing a fast-ramping reactor for making CO2-free NH3 for fuel, energy storage, and agricultural applications. A fast-ramping reactor is desired to follow (a) variable electricity generation from CO2-free sources such wind and solar power plants or (b) variable availability from CO2-free baseload electricity generation such as nuclear or hydroelectric power plants. The reactor builds upon the Haber-Bosch process by (a) introducing a higher activity supported Ru catalyst (over 4.5 mmol g-1 h-1 at 1 atm and over 45 mmol g-1 h-1 at 10 atm) and (b) further enhancing the catalysis by applying an electric potential or electric field to the catalyst. The catalysts and processes are the subjects of PCT patent application PCT/US17/20201. The catalysts and processes have been characterized in a differential reactor and are being incorporated into a prototype reactor designed to produce 3 kg NH3 per day. The presentation will feature data from the differential reactor and prototype reactor testing and modeled cost of CO2-free NH3 at larger production scales. Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in Conference Paper

Tagged , ,

Future of Ammonia Production: Improvement of Haber-Bosch Process or Electrochemical Synthesis?

Posted on October 1, 2017 by | 2 comments

Grigorii Soloveichik
US Department of Energy – ARPA-E, United States

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 1, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

Ammonia, the second most produced chemical in the world (176 million tons in 2014), is manufactured at large plants (1,000 – 1,500 t/day) using Haber-Bosch process developed more than hundred years ago. A simple reaction of nitrogen and hydrogen (produced by steam methane reforming or coal gasification) consumes about 2% of world energy, in part due to the use of high pressure and temperature. With the global transition from fossil fuels to intermittent renewable energy sources there is a need for long term storage and long range transmission of energy, for which ammonia is perfect fit. To make it practical, it is necessary to match the scale of ammonia production with the scale of renewable energy sources, at the same or better capital cost per ton of NH3, and reduce the energy consumption. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Conference Paper

Tagged , , ,

Novel Catalysts for Ammonia Cracking and Synthesis

Posted on October 1, 2017 by | Leave a comment

Bill David*1,2, Josh Makepeace1, Thomas Wood2
[1] University of Oxford; [2] Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, United Kingdom

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 1, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

The most effective ammonia cracking catalysts are currently based on rare metals such as ruthenium and cobalt. While iron can efficiently crack ammonia at 600 °C, it is desirable to develop similarly inexpensive catalysts that are effective at lower temperatures between 350 °C and 500 °C. In this presentation, a new family of imide-based catalysts are described that crack ammonia around 400 °C to 550 °C. These materials do not behave as conventional surface-based catalysts and offer an affordable route for on-board cracking of ammonia for hydrogen fuel-cell cars. The operational parameters of a small 50W lab-based demonstrator will be described and the presentation will conclude with a discussion of the promise of these materials as ammonia synthesis catalysts. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Conference Paper

Tagged , , ,

Delivering Clean Hydrogen Fuel from Ammonia Using Metal Membranes

Posted on October 1, 2017 by | Leave a comment

Michael Dolan
CSIRO, Australia

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 1, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

The use of ammonia (NH3) as a hydrogen vector can potentially enable renewable energy export from Australia to markets in Asia and Europe. With a higher hydrogen density than liquid H2, plus existing production and transport infrastructure, and well-developed safety practices and standards, the financial and regulatory barriers to this industry are lower than for liquid H2 transport. The only significant technical barrier which remains, however, is the efficient utilisation of ammonia fuel at or near the point of use, either directly or through the production of H2. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Conference Paper

Tagged , , , ,

NH3 / N2 / O2 Non-Premixed Flame in a 10 kW Experimental Furnace – Characteristics of Radiative Heat Transfer

Posted on October 1, 2017 by | Leave a comment

Ryuichi Murai1*, Ryohei Omori1, Ryuki Kano1, Yuji Tada1, Hidetaka Higashino1, Noriaki Nakatsuka1, Jun Hayashi1, Fumiteru Akamatsu1, Kimio Iino2, Yasuyuki Yamamoto2, Yoshiyuki Hagiwara2
[1] Osaka University; and [2] Taiyo Nippon Sanso, Japan

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 1, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

There are severe issues on increasing amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission in the world. Many studies are devoted on alternative fuels. One of superior candidates is the utilization of hydrogen energy which can realize a low-carbon and hydrogen-based society. Ammonia might play an important role which is zero emission of CO2, and is useful for hydrogen energy carrier as a clean energy. Additionally, ammonia is an easily-liquefiable fuel with pressure of about 0.86 MPa and temperature of 293 K. Commercially, ammonia is produced in large quantity by the Haber–Bosch process. It is also to be produced by using catalyst with renewable energy sources, such as wind energy and solar energy. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Conference Paper

Tagged , , , , ,

Methods for Low NOx Combustion in Ammonia / Natural Gas Dual Fuel Gas Turbine Combustor

Posted on October 1, 2017 by | 3 comments

Shogo Onishi1*, Shintaro Ito1, Masahiro Uchida1, Soichiro Kato1, Tsukasa Saito1, Toshiro Fujimori1, Hideaki Kobayashi2
[1] IHI Corporation, [2] Institute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University, Japan

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 1, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

Ammonia is a carbon-free fuel, so it has potential to reduce carbon dioxide emission from power plants when used as a fuel. However, combustion characteristics of ammonia are notably different from hydrocarbon fuels, especially regarding NOx emission [1]. The nitrogen atom of the ammonia molecule may cause high NOx emission. Therefore, special techniques to reduce NOx emission are essential for gas turbine combustors which burn ammonia and natural gas. The results of our previous study [2] showed the characteristics of NOx emission in single-stage combustion. In this study, the concept for low-emission combustion in two-stage combustion has been examined numerically and experimentally. Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in Conference Paper

Tagged , , ,

Efficient and Clean Combustion of Ammonia-Hydrogen-Air Mixtures

Posted on September 27, 2017 by | Leave a comment

Hadi Nozari1, Arif Karabeyoğlu1,2
[1] Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey; [2] Space Propulsion Group, Palo Alto CA, United States

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 1, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

Based on its well-known merits ammonia has been gaining special attention as a potential renewable energy carrier which can be replaced in power generation systems. Considering its low flame speed and its potential for producing fuel NOx as the main challenges of combusting ammonia, flame stability, combustion efficiency, and NOx formation are experimentally investigated. Focus is on premixed ammonia-hydrogen-air flames with high mixture fractions of ammonia (60-90% by volume) under standard temperature and pressure conditions. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Conference Paper

Tagged , , , ,

Effects of the Thickness of the Burner Rim, the Velocities of Fuel and Air on Extinction Limit of Ammonia Coaxial Jet Diffusion Flame

Posted on September 27, 2017 by | Leave a comment

Yohei Ishikawa1, Jun Hayashi1*, Hiroyuki Takeishi1, Takahiro Okanami1, Kimio Iino1, Fumiteru Akamatsu1, Yasuyuki Yamamoto2, Yoshiyuki Hagiwara2
[1] Osaka University; and [2] Taiyo Nippon Sanso, Japan

NH3 Fuel Conference, Minneapolis, November 1, 2017
AIChE Annual Meeting, Topical Conference: NH3 Energy+

ABSTRACT

Ammonia is regarded as one of the alternative fuels because CO2 doesn’t emit during the combustion process of ammonia. Ammonia also has advantages in storage and transportation. In addition, ammonia has a potential to be a “hydrogen carrier” because of high amount of hydrogen content. However, there are several combustion related problems such as the low flammability, the low radiative power and the high NOx formation. To use ammonia as a fuel, therefore, it is necessary to understand the fundamental phenomena of the combustibility of the ammonia such as laminar burning velocity, strength of the radiation and extinction limit. Since a coaxial jet diffusion flame is commonly used on the industrial furnaces, the extinction limit of ammonia coaxial jet diffusion flame is important to know for developing ammonia-flamed furnaces. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Conference Paper

Tagged , , ,