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Current and future role of Haber–Bosch ammonia in a carbon-free energy landscape
Energy & Environmental Science ( IF 32.5 ) Pub Date : 2019/12/28 , DOI: 10.1039/c9ee02873k
Collin Smith 1, 2, 3, 4 , Alfred K. Hill 4, 5, 6, 7 , Laura Torrente-Murciano 1, 2, 3, 4
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The future of a carbon-free society relies on the alignment of the intermittent production of renewable energy with our continuous and increasing energy demands. Long-term energy storage in molecules with high energy content and density such as ammonia can act as a buffer versus short-term storage (e.g. batteries). In this paper, we demonstrate that the Haber–Bosch ammonia synthesis loop can indeed enable a second ammonia revolution as energy vector by replacing the CO2 intensive methane-fed process with hydrogen produced by water splitting using renewable electricity. These modifications demand a redefinition of the conventional Haber–Bosch process with a new optimisation beyond the current one which was driven by cheap and abundant natural gas and relaxed environmental concerns during the last century. Indeed, the switch to electrical energy as fuel and feedstock to replace fossil fuels (e.g. methane) will lead to dramatic energy efficiency improvements through the use of high efficiency electrical motors and complete elimination of direct CO2 emissions. Despite the technical feasibility of the electrically-driven Haber–Bosch ammonia, the question still remains whether such revolution will take place. We reveal that its success relies on two factors: increased energy efficiency and the development of small-scale, distributed and agile processes that can align to the geographically isolated and intermittent renewable energy sources. The former requires not only higher electrolyser efficiencies for hydrogen production but also a holistic approach to the ammonia synthesis loop with the replacement of the condensation separation step by alternative technologies such as absorption and catalysis development. Such innovations will open the door to moderate pressure systems, the development and deployment of novel ammonia synthesis catalysts, and even more importantly, the opportunity for integration of reaction and separation steps to overcome equilibrium limitations. When realised, green ammonia will reshape the current energy landscape by directly replacing fossil fuels in transportation, heating, electricity, etc., and as done in the last century, food.

中文翻译:

哈伯-博世氨在无碳能源格局中的当前和未来作用

无碳社会的未来取决于间歇性生产可再生能源与我们不断增长的能源需求相一致。短期存储(例如电池)相比,在具有高能量含量和密度的分子(例如氨)中的长期存储可以起到缓冲作用。在本文中,我们证明了哈伯-博世(Haber-Bosch)氨合成回路确实可以通过替代CO 2来实现氨的第二次旋转作为能量矢量用可再生能源分解水产生的氢气进行密集的甲烷供料工艺。这些修改要求重新定义传统的Haber-Bosch工艺,并在上个世纪以来的廉价和丰富的天然气以及对环境问题的放松驱使下,对当前的优化进行了新的优化。确实,改用电能作为燃料和原料来代替化石燃料(例如甲烷)将通过使用高效电动机并完全消除直接的CO 2来显着提高能源效率。排放。尽管电动哈伯-博世氨技术具有技术可行性,但仍然存在这样的问题,即这种革命是否会发生。我们发现其成功取决于两个因素:提高能源效率和发展小规模,分布式和敏捷的过程,这些过程可以与地理上孤立和间歇的可再生能源保持一致。前者不仅需要更高的电解效率来生产氢气,而且还需要采用整体方法来合成氨合成回路,用诸如吸收和催化开发之类的替代技术来代替缩合分离步骤。此类创新将为中等压力系统,新型氨合成催化剂的开发和应用打开大门,甚至更重要的是,整合反应和分离步骤以克服平衡限制的机会。一旦实现,绿色氨将通过直接替代运输,供暖,电力,等等,以及上个世纪的食物。
更新日期:2020-02-19
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