Wind Energy to Ammonia Synthesis

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Program:
REFUEL
Award:
$3,098,000
Location:
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Status:
ALUMNI
Project Term:
07/10/2017 - 07/09/2021
Website:

Technology Description:

The University of Minnesota (UMN) will develop a small-scale ammonia synthesis system using water and air, powered by wind energy. Instead of developing a new catalyst, this team is looking to increase process efficiency by absorbing ammonia at modest pressures as soon as it is formed. The reactor partially converts a feed of nitrogen and hydrogen into ammonia, after which the gases leaving the reactor go into a separator, where the ammonia is removed and the unreacted hydrogen and nitrogen are recycled. The ammonia is removed completely by selective absorption, which allows the synthesis to operate at lower pressure. This reduced pressure makes the system suitable for small-scale applications and more compatible with intermittent energy sources. The success of preliminary experiments suggests that this new approach may be fruitful in reducing capital and operating costs of ammonia production.

Potential Impact:

If successful, developments from REFUEL projects will enable energy generated from domestic, renewable resources to increase fuel diversity in the transportation sector in a cost-effective and efficient way.

Security:

The U.S. transportation sector is heavily dependent on petroleum for its energy. Increasing the diversity of energy-dense liquid fuels would bolster energy security and help reduce energy imports.

Environment:

Liquid fuels created using energy from renewable resources are carbon-neutral, helping reduce transportation sector emissions.

Economy:

Fuel diversity reduces exposure to price volatility. By storing energy in hydrogen-rich liquid fuels instead of pure hydrogen in liquid or gaseous form, transportation costs can be greatly reduced, helping make CNLFs cost-competitive with traditional fuels.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Grigorii Soloveichik
Project Contact:
Prof. Alon McCormick
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
mccormic@umn.edu

Partners

National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Proton Energy Systems

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Release Date:
04/26/2016