Ammonia Production Can be Practically Free

Presented on November 12, 2019 during the Ammonia Energy Conference 2019

Download this Presentation A PDF of this paper is not currently available.

Abstract

As a prototype I take Green ammonia: Haldor Topsoe’s solid oxide electrolyzer ( https://ammoniaenergy.org/green-ammonia-haldor-topsoes-solid-oxide-electrolyzer/ ) to produce synthesis-gas (1/2 N2 + 1.5 H2 ) for ammonia production from air, water and renewable energy. The big disadvantage of it is very expensive CAPEX of the electrolyzer consuming 7.2 MWh electricity per a ton of ammonia.

In my turn, I suppose a following technology consuming 7.0-7.4 MWh electricity to produce ammonia with by-product of 0.4 ton formaldehyde solution (40% in water) being now USD 300-350/ton fob price, considered as that ammonia payback including CAPEX. The world annual consume of formaldehyde exceeds 10 million ton.

See electricity source in Appendix, being extremely cheap.

(1) (1/2 N2 + 1/8 O2) (air) + 1/8 CH4 = ½ N2 + 1/8 H2CO (formaldehyde) + 1/8 H2O + 41 Kj (at 1500 C)

(2) 1.5 H2O = 1.5 H2 + 0.75 O2 – 429 Kj = 7.0 MWh per ton NH3

(3) ½ N2 + 1.5 H2 = NH3 + 46 Kj (at 400 C)

(4) mixed heats of (1) and of (3) being mixes with 1 mol cold water, they are creating a steam of 600C temperature, goes to turbine-generator. Its exhaust, being cold, is by-product being liquid solution of formaldehyde, while the recycled energy recompenses electricity consume for compressing at 300 bars of the syntheses-gas ( N2 + H2) and its heating and about 5.0% of heat loses at (2).

Being summarized, our ammonia would be practically free, because its by-product being about USD 130.0 (325 * 0.16 /0.4 = 130) per 1 ton NH3 excluding a cost of CH4 being about USD 25.0-30.0 (150 -180 /1000 m3) can compensate the system’s CAPEX, in lion share being CAPEX of the ammonia synthesis.

Appendix

First version and publication of that breakthrough technology goes back to July, 2017 and was titled as “Fresh look on wind power generation”. That was really a fresh & new look now upgraded into a system, can produce by 0.25 US cent/kWh (because a lion share of the cost is gearless permanent magnet electric generator of USD 80.0/kW) and deliver that electricity reliably and safely to any point of the world in practically unlimited quantity by final cost less than 1.0 USA cent for any consumption schedule.

The key idea originally was to transform a route energy of a sail boat into rotation of a generator equipped by a hydraulic turbine with effectiveness near 100%.

So the power generation unit is a small pilotless floating structure (SPFS) with a simplest flat sail and relatively small hydraulic turbine is fixed underwater to the SPFS moved by the sail.

The said SPFS goes there and back. They harvest the wind energy and transform it into electricity.

Certainly, we can ask me a way to store and to transport such electricity from the thing floating in the open ocean?

We can transform such electricity in hydrogen-gas thermally from desalinated sea water, then collected on-board for further transportation to floating terminals.

The hydrogen-gas can be liquefied at the terminals and transported in thermal insulated vessel by air at high altitude by hydrogen blimp (i.e. airship being a simplest inflatable balloon filled by hydrogen at small pressure), using a negligible share of liquid hydrogen as the said blimp fueling. The liquefying will increase a cost of end electricity for consumers vs. its sea/ocean origin one, but totally it is much more cheaper, quicker, safer and directly than by tankers, if more than 150 ton blimp for about 10,000 km and then for electricity producing for micro-grids by hydrogen-air fuel cells. It is suitable for long-term storage or for transforming it in other energy carriers, e.g. in ammonia or hydrocarbons.

Some examples of tremendous consequences of my invention in economics and human life:

(1) Such cheap and limitless and easy accessible electricity will turn a human life, production and transportation to electricity usage as practically only energy resource and transform design of things and tools for energy effective feeding by electricity.

(2) In such case, there would be enough about 40.0 trillion kWh electricity annually in a middle-term perspective to feed all needs of mankind. It can be provided by 4.0 milliards kW power can be provided by 160.0 million simplest SPFS-s of 25 kW each, much simpler and in much less quantity than cars now used, and by total CAPEX of about USD 250 milliards annually during 5 years. Really, it is practically negligible expense in comparison with world GDP. We can imagine a way to solve the all world energy supply problem practically free? Here I did it, and did by green way. I can think that in our turbulent world there are much more reliably to prefer electricity generation in far open ocean than in a nearest sea, even if the electricity would be twice more expensive.

Topics Ammonia Markets Renewable Ammonia

Authors [email protected]

AEA Conferences

Save the date for the AEA’s 21st Annual Conference in New Orleans, November 11-13, 2024. Registration will open soon.

AEA Conferences provide its members with the opportunity to collaborate, learn and share information, and together accelerate the responsible adoption of ammonia in a sustainable economy. Learn more.

Featured content

Browse presentations from our 20th Annual Conference, including the keynote speech by Dolf Gielen of the World Bank: