Wellington Research Could be a Game Changer for Ammonia Production
- Posted By
10Pointer
- Categories
Science & Technology
- Published
24th Feb, 2020
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Context
- Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington researchers have discovered a new way of synthesising ammonia, with potential global environmental benefits.
- Dr Natali and Dr Jay Chan have discovered how to break nitrogen bonds under mild conditions—room temperature and low pressure—which they say could revolutionise the way ammonia is produced.
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How will it help?
- The discovery could lead to more economically feasible and environmentally friendly production of a chemical that is currently essential to many industries—and could be part of the solution to developing an affordable, sustainable hydrogen economy.
- “Globally, ammonia-based fertilisers are responsible for 50 percent of the world’s food production—ammonia is the single largest chemical industrial process on earth.
- However, ammonia is currently produced using the Haber-Bosch process, which has high greenhouse gas emissions, is very energy intensive, and is only economically viable at 100s to 1,000s of tonnes production per day, which greatly increases overall operating and capital costs.
- Because this method occurs at room temperature and uses low pressure, it is less energy intensive and has a lower greenhouse gas emission profile.
- This is the first step to making ammonia production for existing industries more flexible, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly.
- This technique could also enable new alternative markets for ammonia, including supporting the development of a sustainable hydrogen economy.
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Why is this important?
- The hydrogen economy is already growing at a tremendous rate, as hydrogen is championed as a clean, green fuel source. However, current storage solutions for hydrogen are costly, hazardous, and energy intensive.
- For several reasons, ammonia is a good storage solution for hydrogen, especially as it emits no carbon—vital in the current climate crisis.
- Ammonia produced using this new technique could utilise small, decentralised production plants that use renewable energy to function and provide a cost-efficient storage method for clean hydrogen.
- The introduction of the United Nations’ Paris Agreement in 2016, which saw 195 countries agree to keep the increase in global temperature less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, has encouraged ambitious efforts to combat global warming. These signatories are looking to industry to demonstrate change and work towards a clean, circular economy.
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What is Haber-Bosch process?
- The Haber-Bosch process is a process that fixes nitrogen with hydrogen to produce ammonia — a critical part in the manufacture of plant fertilizers.
- The process was developed in the early 1900s by Fritz Haber and was later modified to become an industrial process to make fertilizers by Carl Bosch.
- The Haber-Bosch process is extremely important because it was the first of processes developed that allowed people to mass-produce plant fertilizers due to the production of ammonia.
Quick Recap
- Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington—discovered a new way of synthesising ammonia—by breaking nitrogen bonds under mild conditions—room temperature and low pressure.
- Dr Natali, the University’s Associate Professor Ben Ruck, Emeritus Professor Joe Trodahl, and MacDiarmid Postdoctoral Fellow Dr Jay Chan have discovered this method.
- It is less energy intensive and has a lower greenhouse gas emission profile. It is more flexible, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly.
- Ammonia is a good storage solution for hydrogen, especially as it emits no carbon.
- Currently it is produced using the Haber-Bosch process which has high greenhouse gas emissions, is very energy intensive.
- This process is developed in the early 1900s by Fritz Haber, later modified to become an industrial process to make fertilizers by Carl Bosch.
