The major process for making ammonia (NH3) burns the carbon in methane, and attaches the hydrogen from the methane to nitrogen, adding 3% of our excess CO2. There are alternatives when cheap hydrogen from water and renewable energy is available. Let's look at them, and at what ammonia is used for, including powering cars, trucks, and ships.
Haber process
The Haber process,[1] also called the Haber–Bosch process, is an artificial nitrogen fixation process and is the main industrial procedure for the production of ammonia today.[2][3] It is named after its inventors, the German chemists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch, who developed it in the first decade of the 20th century. The process converts atmospheric nitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3) by a reaction with hydrogen (H2) using a metal catalyst under high temperatures and pressures:
- N2 + 3 H2 ⟶ 2 NH3
- ΔH∘ = − 91.8 kJ/mol
The current process is polluting, more expensive than we would like, and demanding due to the high pressure, hydrogen embrittlement of metal vessels, and other technical difficulties. What are the alternatives?
Uses of Ammonia
Ammonia is mainly used as fertilizer in agriculture (creating familiar environmental issues that I am omitting here) and as a chemical feedstock for making a wide range of products. It is a familiar household cleaner, and has a variety of other uses:
- Bacterial food in fermentation
- Production of "pink slime" meat
- Industrial refrigeration
- Scrubbing sulfur from burning coal
- Neutralizing NOx emissions from diesel engines
- As a stimulant (smelling salts)
- Mercerization of cotton fabric
- Lifting gas in weather balloons
- Fuel
I make no claim that ammonia-fueled vehicles of any particular kind will be commercially successful. We don't know enough to make such predictions. But some are definitely interesting, like the ship powered by ammonia that Q-Job is proposing. The X-15 research plane burned ammonia, but they weren't concerned with fuel costs or NOx pollution.
Jul 12, 2018
Researchers around the globe are chasing the same vision of an ... The emissions add up: Ammonia ...
Ammonia as ship’s fuel: C-Job’s future-proof way of thinking
In terms of fuel, the shipping industry is becoming more and more aware of its impact on the environment. Considering the long-term, what sustainable fuels present viable and realistic possibilities for the maritime sector? One option that is just too promising to be overlooked is ammonia, says C-Job Naval Architect Niels de Vries. “Ammonia is easily sourced and has carbon-free emissions. Furthermore, thanks to the long-standing fertilizer industry, safe working practices are well established.”
Other alternatives involve using fuel cells. “Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells are commercially available and are used, for example, in submarines in a number of navies around the world. Here, the ammonia is fully separated, and the hydrogen is then used to generate electric power.” Using Solid Oxygen Fuel Cells is also an option where ammonia can be used directly, but requires further research to determine its viability.
Research on Ammonia Production
Hydrogen production
Stranded energy from wind and solar on islands, and excess production in general, can be stored in a variety of ways, including cracking hydrogen from water. Some of that hydrogen could be used to produce ammonia. With sufficient R&D, we might make that process efficient enough to run regularly, not just when there is renewable energy to spill.
Apr 24, 2019 - UTokyo researchers use readily available lab equipment, recyclable chemicals and a minimum of energy to produce ammonia. ... "Worldwide, the Haber-Bosch process consumes 3 to 5 percent of all natural gas produced, around 1 or 2 percent of the world's entire energy supply," explained Nishibayashi.
Cleaner, cheaper ammonia: Cheaper fertilizer—Science Daily
Apr 24, 2019 - Researchers use readily available lab equipment, recyclable chemicals and a minimum of energy to produce ammonia. Their Samarium-Water ...
Jan 17, 2014 - Parallel to catalyst optimization, current research efforts are also focused on the investigation of new methods for ammonia synthesis, including …
Research Triangle Institute (RTI) - Renewables-Based Catalytic Ammonia ... Technology enabling the small- and medium-scale synthesis of ammonia can move ...
Sustainable Ammonia – AMMONIA INDUSTRY
Jun 20, 2019 - NEWS BRIEF: The industrial process for ammonia production is increasingly being recognized as a target for decarbonization
research interests are novel inorganic. materials, green energy and chemical. provisions, and catalysis. Green Ammonia Production.
Ammonia-Fueled Vehicle Videos
6:16
At the time of this video, US, Italy, and Korea had developed ammonia-fueled cars.
2:18
With the global transition from fossil fuels to green energy accelerating rapidly, there is a growing need for new, clean ...
3:01
1 year ago
With copious solar and wind power, Australia aims to displace Haber-Bosch, a dirty, 100-year-old recipe for making ammonia …
Halton Hills scientist Roger Gordon explains the science behind his potentially revolutionary fuel source, and the struggle to get it ...
3:25
Greg Vezina built an ammonia powered car 25 years ago. The details of its operation are not given. This is NOT my effort, and not ...
2:31
1 year ago
In a world first, two cars powered by hydrogen derived from ammonia have hit the road in Queensland. Industry leaders say the ...
14:26
Bill David, a friend of X, talks about his moonshot project to turn ammonia into the fuel of the future.
1:40
Nicholas Worth, a researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, is studying how burning different gases in a ...
29:21
The Forum2100 Business and Energy series addresses business opportunities in pursuit of clean energy goals. Ammonia is often ...