What is it about?
The search for sustainable energy alternatives continues as the world is trying to shift its base from fossil fuel-based to carbon-free energy resources. One of the promising candidates that can replace carbon dioxide-intensive methane-fed energy economy is ammonia. High energy content and density allow ammonia molecules to act as vehicles for long-term energy storage. The existing Haber-Bosch process for ammonia synthesis is heavily dependent on natural gas as fuel. Switching to renewable fuels, enhancing water splitting abilities, and optimizing reaction conditions and response time of the Haber-Bosch process can pave the way for a second ammonia revolution. A sustainable energy landscape that can produce hydrogen fuel using renewable resources and eliminate direct carbon dioxide emissions could follow suit.
Featured Image
Photo by Chris LeBoutillier on Unsplash
Why is it important?
The current environmental crisis demands strategies that can combine renewable natural resources with energy generation on-demand. Redefined Haber-Bosch ammonia can be used to produce carbon-neutral energy using well-known procedures and existing infrastructures. The authors suggest two major factors that could affect the success of this energy revolution—first is increased energy efficiency and second is the small-scale of the process. Adopting an electricity-driven ammonia synthesis loop can boost the energy efficiency of the process by up to 50%. Energy efficiency can also be reinforced by developing alternative separation techniques and novel catalysts for ammonia production. The authors also highlight the need for localized renewable energy generation systems. They suggest further improvements to the Haber-Bosch process that can significantly reduce cost and encourage the establishment of small-scale production systems. KEY TAKEAWAY: Ammonia has always played a pivotal role in reshaping the progress of human society. The invention of the Haber-Bosch process revolutionized how the world produced food and now green ammonia holds the potential to reshape the current energy landscape by reducing direct carbon emissions and offering developing nations a means to abate poverty.
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Current and future role of Haber–Bosch ammonia in a carbon-free energy landscape, Energy & Environmental Science, January 2020, Royal Society of Chemistry, DOI: 10.1039/c9ee02873k.
You can read the full text:
Resources
Climate Change Knowledge Cooperative
Explore the wider collection of climate change research summaries.
Artificial intelligence is helping make wind power more reliable
Clean energy options all need to be improved to be able to take over from fossil fuels. This is one example of how scientists are managing to make clean energy production more efficient and predictable.
Improving current green energy technology so it is a realistic alternative to fossil fuels
Scientists have worked out how to make solar power work more effectively. This could help us move more quickly to a low-carbon future and meet net-zero targets.
Food waste can be processed to make clean fuel.
Scientists have found an economical approach to generating clean biofuels in an environmentally friendly manner.
Clean fuels: how can we produce them more efficiently?
As we try to reduce our use of fossil fuels, we need to find other fuels that can be produced with less damage to the environment. This sort of project is helping us work out the most efficient – and therefore least damaging – way to make hydrogen fuel.
Contributors
Be the first to contribute to this page
