Electricity to NH3 (Ammonia): A New (in Lab) Process that Approaches 100% Efficiency

[SageBrush]

Electroreduction of nitrogen with almost 100% current-to-ammonia efficiency - Nature

A high-efficiency, robust process using a high-concentration imide-based lithium-salt electrolyte enables the electroreduction of nitrogen with stabilized ammonia yield rates of 150 ± 20 nmol s−1  cm−2 and a current-to-ammonia efficiency that is close to 100%.

www.nature.com

I am usually skeptical to the point of not reading 'new and exciting developments' but this one caught my eye, mostly because it is published in Nature, and because Ammonia has come up over the years as a possibly viable liquid fuel for energy storage

I'd love to hear technical discussion to fill in my knowledge gaps

Scalability ?
Cost ?
Transport ?
Combustion ? Oxidation via Fuel Cell ?
Nitrogen recovery ?

 

[SageBrush]

What is the hydrogen source above ?
It would be truly exciting if the NH3 could be oxidized/combusted into separate streams of N2 and H2 and then recombined with electricity in a closed cycle at a power plant.

 

[petit_bateau]

Most of the ammonia news I see is related to wind-to-ammonia, primarily in Germany/Denmark/Netherlands. Most of the shorter term consumption appears aimed at shipping. Maersk has ordered a batch of ammonia-fuelled ships.

 

[SageBrush]

Most of the ammonia news I see is related to wind-to-ammonia, primarily in Germany/Denmark/Netherlands. Most of the shorter term consumption appears aimed at shipping. Maersk has ordered a batch of ammonia-fuelled ships.

Interesting. I presume the Ammonia is being combusted. To what, at what efficiency, and with what pollutants ?

 

[petit_bateau]

Interesting. I presume the Ammonia is being to combusted. To what, at what efficiency, and with what pollutants ?

NOX as far as I can see, but maybe I'm missing something, and there seem to be scrubbers to then scrub that NOx .......

https://www.dnv.com/expert-story/maritime-impact/Harnessing-ammonia-as-ship-fuel.html?

Ammonia as a shipping fuel

<p>The Getting to Zero Coalition is committed to accelerating shipping decarbonization by getting commercially viable deep sea zero emission vessels powered by zero emission fuels into operation by 2030 to put shipping on a path for full decarbonization by 2050. To unpack the different fuels and...

www.globalmaritimeforum.org

more on the wider plans, which include methanol as a dual fuel option

Maersk backs plan to build Europe’s largest green ammonia facility

Maersk continues parallel development of fuels of the future to decarbonise operations.

www.maersk.com

Maersk secures its first complete e-fuel supply chain

Moller – Maersk has entered into strategic partnerships with six organisations to secure the supply of at least 730,000 tonnes per year of green methanol fuel by 2025, which will fuel their…

www.ammoniaenergy.org

Maersk

www.ammoniaenergy.org

First Approval in Principle for Project Sabre in Singapore

ABS has granted Approval in Principle to Keppel Offshore & Marine for an ammonia-fueled, ammonia bunkering vessel. The new vessel is a key component of Project Sabre: a high-profile consortium of…

www.ammoniaenergy.org

 

[SageBrush]

I read that the 'green' way to make Ammonia (NH3) is with H2, air and water.
So we are starting with the losses involved in electrolysis of water

Sounds like the attraction is not having to deal with compressed Hydrogen ?

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I read that the 'green' way to make Ammonia (NH3) is with H2, air and water.
So we are starting with the losses involved in electrolysis of water

Sounds like the attraction is not having to deal with compressed Hydrogen ?

I think ammonia would "only" need 10-20 atmospheres of pressure to store as a liquid.

I assume also because they'd be able to use combustion engines, so there's a known.
But it's 11.38 GJ/m^3 compared to 37.184GJ/m^3 for diesel. More fuel needed.

However, I'm sure they see both the potential for fuel cost reduction, and ease of operation as more ports would allow them in.

 

[SageBrush]

I think ammonia would "only" need 10-20 atmospheres of pressure to store as a liquid.

I didn't realize that liquid ammonia had to be kept under pressure since it can be bought in a store, albeit I presume not at 100% purity. This article below says 125 psi -- about 8.5 ATM. Quite a bit less than the 300 -- 700 ATM the industry talks about compressing hydrogen.

A Kg of Ammonia is ~ 6.25 kWh per Google, so the 2014 figures for pipe transport in the US are about 6.25*0.8*E9 kWh = 5.6 TWh annually, just to give some idea of what is currently being moved about.

Oil and Gas Industry Network​

Sankara Papavinasam, in Corrosion Control in the Oil and Gas Industry, 2014

2.40 Ammonia pipelines​

Ammonia pipelines have been transporting liquid ammonia for the fertilizer industry for a long time. Ammonia pipelines are used in the oil and gas industry to transport hydrogen. Ammonia gas turns into a liquid at 125 psi (862 kPa) and liquid ammonia is transported in pipelines. At the delivery point, hydrogen gas is liberated from ammonia. Currently there are about 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometer) of 6–8 inch (152-203 mm) diameter carbon steel pipelines in the US which transport about 2 million tons of ammonia per year. This is equivalent to transporting ∼350,000 tons of hydrogen per year. Ammonia pipelines normally operate at 250 psi (1,723 kPa) pressure. Liquid ammonia is non-corrosive and hence internal corrosion is not an issue.

 

[mspohr]

Green Ammonia To Rescue US Farmers From Fertilizer Supply Woes

The startup ReMo Energy aims to bring green ammonia to US farmers, helping to decentralize and stabilize fertilizer production.

cleantechnica.com

Solar and wind resources are the lowest marginal cost sources of electricity in most of the world today. The dropping costs and near universal availability of wind and solar resources have created an opportunity for the world to synthesize high-volume commodities at competitive prices without carbon emissions,” ReMo explained. “ReMo Energy’s technology makes it possible to produce nitrogen fertilizers and other materials right where they are needed directly from local energy sources.”

 

[ThomasD]

Any large scale trials of this on Farms yet?

 

[mspohr]

Any large scale trials of this on Farms yet?

Looks like not quite in production yet

ReMo Energy | renewable molecules

www.remo.energy

 

[dgpcolorado]

I didn't realize that liquid ammonia had to be kept under pressure since it can be bought in a store, albeit I presume not at 100% purity...

If I understand your reference correctly, the "ammonia" purchased in a store is a dilute solution of ammonia (gas) dissolved in water: NH3 + H2O ⇌ NH4+ + OH– aka "ammonium hydroxide." A tiny amount of NH3 is present in the solution, which gives it the characteristic ammonia smell. The solution is quite basic, which makes it a good cleaning agent (because it tends to make fats and oils water soluble). FWIW.