Site items in: Catalysts

Novel Catalysts for Ammonia Cracking and Synthesis
Presentation

The most effective ammonia cracking catalysts are currently based on rare metals such as ruthenium and cobalt. While iron can efficiently crack ammonia at 600 °C, it is desirable to develop similarly inexpensive catalysts that are effective at lower temperatures between 350 °C and 500 °C. In this presentation, a new family of imide-based catalysts are described that crack ammonia around 400 °C to 550 °C. These materials do not behave as conventional surface-based catalysts and offer an affordable route for on-board cracking of ammonia for hydrogen fuel-cell cars. The operational parameters of a small 50W lab-based demonstrator will be…

Delivering Clean Hydrogen Fuel from Ammonia Using Metal Membranes
Presentation

The use of ammonia (NH3) as a hydrogen vector can potentially enable renewable energy export from Australia to markets in Asia and Europe. With a higher hydrogen density than liquid H2, plus existing production and transport infrastructure, and well-developed safety practices and standards, the financial and regulatory barriers to this industry are lower than for liquid H2 transport. The only significant technical barrier which remains, however, is the efficient utilisation of ammonia fuel at or near the point of use, either directly or through the production of H2. For H2 production from NH3, the purity of the product H2 is…

Development of Materials and Systems for Ammonia-Fueled Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
Presentation

Hydrogen is the primary fuel source for fuel cells. However, the low volume density and difficulty in storage and transportation are major obstacles for the practical utilization. On-site generation of hydrogen from its carrier is an effective method for the fuel supply. Among various hydrogen carriers, ammonia is one of the promising candidates. Ammonia has high hydrogen density. The boiling point of ammonia is relatively high, leading to the ease in liquefaction and transportation. Hydrogen can be produced from ammonia with a mildly endothermic process. The reaction temperature of ammonia cracking is about 600˚C or higher which is close to…

The Ammonia Economy at the ACS National Meeting
Article

The American Chemical Society (ACS) has published the program for its 2017 National Meeting, which takes place next month in Washington DC and includes a session dedicated to the "Ammonia Economy." The first day of the week-long meeting, Sunday August 20th, will feature a full morning of technical papers from the US, UK, and Japan, covering ammonia energy topics across three general areas: producing hydrogen from ammonia, developing new catalysts for ammonia synthesis and oxidation, and storing ammonia in solid chemical form.

Progress in Ammonia Combustion Catalysts
Article

On February 14 the Journal of Physical Chemistry published a paper entitled “Local Structures and Catalytic Ammonia Combustion Properties of Copper Oxides and Silver Supported on Aluminum Oxides.” The paper, by Satoshi Hinokuma of Kumamoto University in Kumamoto, Japan and four co-authors, reports on a catalyst system that is well adapted for use in ammonia energy applications.

International R&D on sustainable ammonia synthesis technologies
Article

Over the last few weeks, I've written extensively about sustainable ammonia synthesis projects funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE). While these projects are important, the US has no monopoly on technology development. Indeed, given the current uncertainty regarding energy policy under the Trump administration, the US may be at risk of stepping away from its assumed role as an industry leader in this area. This article introduces seven international projects, representing research coming out of eight countries spread across four continents. These projects span the breadth of next-generation ammonia synthesis research, from nanotechnology and electrocatalysis to plasmas and ionic liquids.

Presentation

Ammonia is a promising hydrogen carrier because of its high hydrogen density, low production cost, and ease in liquefaction and transport. Ammonia decomposes into nitrogen and hydrogen through a mildly endothermic process. The ammonia decomposition temperature is close to the operating conditions of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Therefore, the integration of these two devices is beneficial in terms of efficient heat and energy managements and will lead to the development of simplified generation systems. We have investigated three types of ammonia-fueled SOFC systems. In one system, ammonia is directly supplied to the anode chamber. Ammonia decomposes into nitrogen and…

Cracking ammonia
Presentation

In this talk, I will discuss our latest research in developing novel ammonia cracking catalysts. While ammonia can be used directly as a fuel in high temperature fuel cells, internal combustion engines and gas turbine, the ability to crack ammonia affordably and effectively increases the range of possibilities for utilising ammonia as an energy vector. For example, the production of an ammonia-free hydrogen/nitrogen gas mixture permits the consideration of ammonia as an on-board hydrogen storage option for transportation. Furthermore, the ability to partly crack ammonia provides an increased flexibility for internal combustion engines. I will outline developments in our search…

Applications of hydrogen permeable membranes in ammonia synthesis and decomposition
Presentation

It is well known that ammonia is being considered as a method of storing hydrogen. Although some fuel cells are being developed that can use ammonia directly as a fuel source, many fuel cell technologies still require an outside cracker to revert ammonia back into hydrogen for efficient use. In this regard, hydrogen permeable membranes, such as Pd and its alloys, have been targeted as potential membrane reactors in which the ammonia is cracked while the hydrogen is simultaneously separated. Pd and its alloys are expensive, but offer potentially perfect hydrogen purity that is highly preferable for certain fuel cells…