Ammonia is an important industrial chemical. It is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula NH3. Ammonia, either directly or indirectly, is also a building block for the synthesis of many chemicals.
A project centered in Utah is being developed to make cleaner ammonia with nuclear energy. It's a project that, if scaled, could eliminate the more than one percent of global carbon pollution production that is generated from ammonia-making. It's a unique combination of multiple cleaner energy solutions in one project with government backing.
Experts at Utah State University and scientists from Illinois-based Argonne National Laboratory are collaborating on the ammonia project. The project is being funded by the Department of Energy, which set aside fifty-six million dollars for sixty-eight projects last year to support the development of nuclear energy.
It all begins with making ‘green hydrogen’ with nuclear-powered electrolysis, which uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is often generated through a steam-reforming method that uses natural gas which limits its clean-energy potential.
By using small modular fission reactors from Oregon's NuScale Power to power the electrolysis, the experts can ensure an air-pollution-free process cost-effectively. Small modular reactors offer about one-third the power generation of typical larger reactors, making them well-suited for the task.
Hydrogen is already being used to fuel vehicles without making planet-warming fumes, and more innovations are in development. As part of a circular benefit, ammonia is an effective way to store hydrogen.
About forty three percent of hydrogen produced globally is used to make ammonia through another process using high heat and pressure. About one and two tenths percent of global air pollution comes from ammonia production.
The New York Health Department notes that about eighty percent of industry-produced ammonia is used in fertilizer for crops. Ammonia demand increases with food demand. We live in a hungry world with a population expected to exceed ten billion by 2060, per U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
“A significant increase in ammonia production is expected with population growth, according to historical data. Thus, decarbonizing the existing ammonia market represents a big opportunity for carbon-free ammonia to significantly reduce global [greenhouse gas] emissions,” according to a recent report on ammonia production.
The nuclear ammonia project is an interesting intersection of nuclear science, hydrogen, and ammonia. All of these are mentioned by experts to some degree as part of a more sustainable energy future. Eliminating harmful air pollution by even a couple of percentage points would have a huge impact. Researchers expect agricultural productivity to be reduced as temperatures continue to rise and limit crop yields. That is just one problem linked to our planet's warming.
The Utah and Argonne experts hope their project will lead to a scalable technique that can be deployed ‘essentially everywhere.’
Kathryn Huff works in the Department of Energy nuclear energy office. She said in the press release announcing the projects that the “The funding will help ensure researchers and educators have the resources they need to keep making a difference.”