Site items in: Life Cycle Analysis

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of NH3 as a Transportation Fuel in Ontario
Article

A recent paper from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, published in June 2016, provides new data on the relative efficiency and safety of using ammonia as a transportation fuel. It presents a cradle-to-grave "comparative life cycle assessment" for a range of vehicles, encompassing the vehicle cycles (manufacturing, maintenance, and disposal) and the fuel cycle (operation).

Key Life Cycle Assessment Numbers for NH3, Green and Brown Energy
Presentation

This talk will present the results of two recent studies. In the first study, four different ammonia production methods are comparatively evaluated using life cycle assessment (LCA). The proposed ammonia production systems consist of an electrolyzer for hydrogen production and a Haber-Bosch plant for ammonia synthesis. The required energy for the systems are utilized from various resources namely hydropower, nuclear, biomass and municipal waste. Life cycle assessment methodology is used to identify and quantify environmental impacts in global warming potential, human toxicity and abiotic depletion categories of each method during the life cycle of the systems. The proposed non-conventional ammonia…

Life-cycle greenhouse gas and energy balance of community-scale wind powered ammonia production
Presentation

As well as being an innovative energy source, ammonia is a crucial component of most nitrogen fertilizers. Since the production of ammonia is very energy intensive and currently completely based on fossil energy, there is a considerable interest in developing renewably produced ammonia for use in agriculture and other sectors. This work presents a life cycle assessment (cradle-to-gate) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and primary energy use for ammonia produced at community-scale using renewable wind generated electricity. Two different regions were studied: Minnesota (US) and Sweden. The results show that ammonia produced with wind-generated electricity has significantly lower fossil energy…

Ammonia Production Using Wind Energy: An Early Calculation of Life Cycle Carbon Emissions and Fossil Energy Consumption
Presentation

Industry professionals and others have begun to consider the use of ammonia as a substitute for fossil energy in the fuel, fertilizer, and chemical sectors. Several factors are driving this concept; including, energy security concerns, the potential for economic development, and reducing the environmental consequences of fossil energy use. In terms of environmental concerns, it is important to determine the potential impacts of producing ammonia before a major switch to ammonia can be considered. This study examined fossil energy use and carbon emissions in the production of ammonia, using life cycle assessment (LCA) methods to analyze production at a novel…