Burning ammonia for energy is a possible path away from the fossil fuel economy. However, a new analysis suggests that the “ammonia economy” will need to be carefully designed to ensure it is, in fact, cleaner than the energy sources it replaces.
Ammonia can be produced from hydrogen via the Haber-Bosch process, transported, and cracked back to hydrogen for use as fuel, an option that could be appealing given that hydrogen itself is difficult to transport. Alternatively, ammonia could be burned directly as fuel. Though its energy density is low compared to fossil fuels, ammonia is carbon-free.
Japan is integrating ammonia into its strategy for electrical generation, with plans to convert all of its coal-fired plants to ammonia plants by 2050, according to a 2022 article in C&EN. Likewise, Saudi Arabia plans to build a renewable hydrogen and ammonia production plant by 2026.
The advantage of these plans is that most current infrastructure can handle ammonia combustion with minimal retrofitting, making it a quick option for moving away from fossil fuels, says Amilcare Porporato, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Princeton Univ. and the senior author of the new analysis, published in the journal PNAS. There are risks, however, which means that the move should be made with caution...
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