Research progress of green ammonia energy and ammonia fuel cell

doi:10.19799/j.cnki.2095-4239.2022.0390

Abstract

Abstract:

With the proposal of a "carbon reduction" global goal, hydrogen is considered the ideal clean energy, but problems such as high production cost, storage, and transportation difficulties limit the large-scale energy application of hydrogen. Used as the carrier of hydrogen. green ammonia, with the meaning of zero carbon footprint, has attracted more and more attention. This study provides an overview of the potential energy applications for green ammonia, the development of green ammonia, and the application progress of ammonia fuel. Furthermore, this study introduces the source of green ammonia. The prospect and challenges of large-scale application of green ammonia are analyzed according to the production cost, technology maturity, and policy factors of green ammonia. Presently, ship transportation and power generation are essential target application fields of ammonia fuel. However, there are still some problems, including the safety of ammonia, mixed combustion theory, and combustion system transformation, among others. An ammonia fuel cell is an essential technology for the energy conversion of ammonia. The research progress of ammonia fuel cell is introduced in detail, including oxygen ion-conducting electrolyte ammonia solid oxide fuel cell, proton-conducting electrolyte ammonia solid oxide fuel cell, proton membrane-ammonia fuel cell and alkaline ammonia fuel cell. The comprehensive analysis shows that the global carbon reduction policy is essential for developing green ammonia at this stage. In the short term, proton membrane-ammonia fuel cell and alkaline ammonia fuel cell would not be able to handle the large-scale application of ammonia fuel. Solid oxide fuel cell with high fuel flexibility is the most promising type of ammonia fuel cell.

Key words: green ammonia, ammonia fuel, fuel cell

CLC Number:

TK 16

Yongzhen CHEN, Ying HAN, Wenji SONG, Ziping FENG. Research progress of green ammonia energy and ammonia fuel cell[J]. Energy Storage Science and Technology, 2023, 12(1): 111-119.

Figures/Tables 10

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Table 1

Energy requirement and CO2 footprint of brown ammonia, blue ammonia, and green ammonia based on the conventional high-pressure ammonia synthesis loop"

Item	Energy requirement(GJ/ $t N H 3$ )		CO₂ footprint( $t C O 2$ / $t N H 3$ )		Relative investment
Item	BAT	Potential	BAT	Potential	Relative investment
Brown ammonia	26	26	1.6	1.6	1.0
SMR	26	26	1.6	1.6	1.0
Naphtha	35	—	2.5	—	1.1～1.2
Heavy fuel oil	38	—	3.0	—	1.5
Coal	42	—	3.6	—	1.8～2.1
Blue ammonia	33	26	0.4	0.2	1.5
Byproduct hydrogen	—	—	1.5～1.6	0.6	—
SMR with CCS	33	27	0.4	0.2	1.5
Coal with CCS	57	—	1.0～2.0	0.5	2.5～3.0
eSMR	—	26	—	1.1	1.0
Green ammonia	33	26	0.1	0.0	1.2～1.5
Low temperature electrolysis	33	31	0.1	0.0	1.2～1.5
High temperature electrolysis	—	26	—	0.0	1.5～2.0
Biomass (with CCS)	—	33	1.1～1.2	0.5	1.2～3.0
Global average	35	27	2.0	1.4	—

Table 1

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

Fig. 8

Fig. 9

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