Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment for electrochemical ammonia production using proton conducting membrane

Gomez, Jamie R.; Baca, John; Garzon, Fernando

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.10.174

Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment for electrochemical ammonia production using proton conducting membrane

Journal Article · Thu Nov 21 00:00:00 EST 2019 · International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.10.174· OSTI ID:1799125

Gomez, Jamie R. ^[1]; Baca, John ^[2]; Garzon, Fernando ^[2]

Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States); OSTI
Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Green ammonia production is facing increasing interest on a global scale as a hydrogen carrier for power generation as well as fertilizer for food production. The conventional Haber-Bosch method for ammonia synthesis is energy demanding, requires high purity hydrogen, and is based on fossil fuels. A preliminary techno-economic model for electrochemical ammonia synthesis at near ambient pressure using feed rates of 32 metric ton/day for hydrogen and 135 metric ton/day for nitrogen is presented in this study. Various pathways using different methods for nitrogen generation and hydrogen production were investigated to gain insight into added energy savings per metric ton of ammonia. Electrochemical synthesis using electrolysis for hydrogen and cryogenic nitrogen was found to be a potentially viable pathway for green ammonia. The profitability metrics including discounted cash flow rate of return, net present value and discounted payback period were estimated to be 8%, $40 MM, and 4–6 years respectively for this pathway. The cost of electricity, conversion rate, and conversion efficiency dominate the tonnage cost of ammonia and were used to assess the feasibility of the model. A life cycle assessment was also conducted to assess the environmental impact of a well to product ammonia process.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)

Grant/Contract Number:: AR0000949

OSTI ID:: 1799125

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1579999

Journal Information:: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Journal Name: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 45; ISSN 0360-3199

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (54)

Electrochemical Reduction of N ₂ under Ambient Conditions for Artificial N ₂ Fixation and Renewable Energy Storage Using N ₂ /NH ₃ Cycle Bao, Di; Zhang, Qi; Meng, Fan-Lu Advanced Materials, Vol. 29, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201604799	journal	November 2016
Au Sub-Nanoclusters on TiO ₂ toward Highly Efficient and Selective Electrocatalyst for N ₂ Conversion to NH ₃ at Ambient Conditions Shi, Miao-Miao; Bao, Di; Wulan, Ba-Ri Advanced Materials, Vol. 29, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201606550	journal	February 2017
Electrocatalytic Synthesis of Ammonia at Room Temperature and Atmospheric Pressure from Water and Nitrogen on a Carbon-Nanotube-Based Electrocatalyst Chen, Shiming; Perathoner, Siglinda; Ampelli, Claudio Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 56, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201609533	journal	January 2017
Self-organized Ruthenium-Barium Core-Shell Nanoparticles on a Mesoporous Calcium Amide Matrix for Efficient Low-Temperature Ammonia Synthesis Kitano, Masaaki; Inoue, Yasunori; Sasase, Masato Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 57, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201712398	journal	February 2018
Comparison of Electrochemical Synthesis of Ammonia by Using Sulfonated Polysulfone and Nafion Membrane with Sm _1.5 Sr _0.5 NiO ₄ Liu, Ruiquan; Xu, Gaochao Chinese Journal of Chemistry, Vol. 28, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/cjoc.201090044	journal	February 2010
Energy-Efficient Nitrogen Reduction to Ammonia at Low Overpotential in Aqueous Electrolyte under Ambient Conditions Wang, Dabin; Azofra, Luis Miguel; Harb, Moussab ChemSusChem, Vol. 11, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201801632	journal	September 2018
The Genesis and Development of the Commercial BP Doubly Promoted Catalyst for Ammonia Synthesis Brown, David E.; Edmonds, Terry; Joyner, Richard W. Catalysis Letters, Vol. 144, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-014-1226-4	journal	March 2014
Electrochemical synthesis of ammonia using a cell with a Nafion membrane and SmFe0.7Cu0.3−x Ni x O3 (x = 0−0.3) cathode at atmospheric pressure and lower temperature Xu, GaoChao; Liu, RuiQuan; Wang, Jin Science in China Series B: Chemistry, Vol. 52, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-009-0135-7	journal	July 2009
Preparation and characterization of chlorine-free ruthenium catalysts and the promoter effect in ammonia synthesis 3. A magnesia-supported ruthenium catalyst Aika, K. Journal of Catalysis, Vol. 136, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9517(92)90112-U	journal	July 1992
Cathode catalysis performance of SmBaCuMO5+δ (M=Fe, Co, Ni) in ammonia synthesis Zhang, Zhengfang; Zhong, Zhengping; Liu, Ruiquan Journal of Rare Earths, Vol. 28, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/S1002-0721(09)60153-8	journal	August 2010
Ammonia synthesis catalyst 100 years: Practice, enlightenment and challenge Liu, Huazhang Chinese Journal of Catalysis, Vol. 35, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1016/S1872-2067(14)60118-2	journal	October 2014
Low-temperature ammonia decomposition catalysts for hydrogen generation Mukherjee, Shreya; Devaguptapu, Surya V.; Sviripa, Anna Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Vol. 226 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2017.12.039	journal	June 2018
Wustite based iron-cobalt catalyst for ammonia synthesis Czekajło, Łukasz; Lendzion-Bieluń, Zofia Catalysis Today, Vol. 286 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2016.11.013	journal	May 2017
Catalyst: NH3 as an Energy Carrier Guo, Jianping; Chen, Ping Chem, Vol. 3, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2017.10.004	journal	November 2017
Reaction: “Green” Ammonia Production Ye, Lin; Nayak-Luke, Richard; Bañares-Alcántara, René Chem, Vol. 3, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2017.10.016	journal	November 2017
Plantwide control of a coupled reformer/ammonia process Luyben, William L. Chemical Engineering Research and Design, Vol. 134 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2018.04.040	journal	June 2018
Exploring the limits: A low-pressure, low-temperature Haber–Bosch process Vojvodic, Aleksandra; Medford, Andrew James; Studt, Felix Chemical Physics Letters, Vol. 598 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cplett.2014.03.003	journal	April 2014
Characterization and performance evaluation of ammonia as fuel for solid oxide fuel cells with Ni/YSZ anodes Stoeckl, Bernhard; Subotić, Vanja; Preininger, Michael Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 298 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2018.12.065	journal	March 2019
Ammonia as a green fuel and hydrogen source for vehicular applications Zamfirescu, C.; Dincer, I. Fuel Processing Technology, Vol. 90, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2009.02.004	journal	May 2009
Ammonia as hydrogen carrier for transportation; investigation of the ammonia exhaust gas fuel reforming Wang, Wentao; Herreros, José M.; Tsolakis, Athanasios International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 38, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.05.144	journal	August 2013
Review of electrochemical ammonia production technologies and materials Giddey, S.; Badwal, S. P. S.; Kulkarni, A. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 38, Issue 34 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.09.054	journal	November 2013
Ammonia as carbon-free substrate for hydrogen production in bioelectrochemical systems Zhan, Guoqiang; Li, Daping; Tao, Yong International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 39, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.05.176	journal	August 2014
Comparative life cycle assessment of hydrogen fuel cell passenger vehicles in different Canadian provinces Ahmadi, Pouria; Kjeang, Erik International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 40, Issue 38 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.07.147	journal	October 2015
Life cycle assessment of nuclear-based hydrogen and ammonia production options: A comparative evaluation Bicer, Yusuf; Dincer, Ibrahim International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 42, Issue 33 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.02.002	journal	August 2017
Ammonia for hydrogen storage; A review of catalytic ammonia decomposition and hydrogen separation and purification Lamb, Krystina E.; Dolan, Michael D.; Kennedy, Danielle F. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 44, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2018.12.024	journal	February 2019
Nitrogen fertilizers manufactured using wind power: greenhouse gas and energy balance of community-scale ammonia production Tallaksen, Joel; Bauer, Fredric; Hulteberg, Christian Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 107 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.130	journal	November 2015
Comparative life cycle assessment of various ammonia production methods Bicer, Yusuf; Dincer, Ibrahim; Zamfirescu, Calin Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 135 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.07.023	journal	November 2016
Recent progress towards mild-condition ammonia synthesis Wang, Qianru; Guo, Jianping; Chen, Ping Journal of Energy Chemistry, Vol. 36 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jechem.2019.01.027	journal	September 2019
Greening Ammonia toward the Solar Ammonia Refinery Wang, Lu; Xia, Meikun; Wang, Hong Joule, Vol. 2, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2018.04.017	journal	June 2018
Using ammonia as a sustainable fuel Zamfirescu, C.; Dincer, I. Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 185, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2008.02.097	journal	October 2008
La2Ce2O7 supported ruthenium as a robust catalyst for ammonia synthesis Han, Wenfeng; Li, Zhi; Liu, Huazhang Journal of Rare Earths, Vol. 37, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jre.2018.09.010	journal	May 2019
Enhancing the rate of electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction for ammonia synthesis under ambient conditions using hollow gold nanocages Nazemi, Mohammadreza; Panikkanvalappil, Sajanlal R.; El-Sayed, Mostafa A. Nano Energy, Vol. 49 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2018.04.039	journal	July 2018
Ammonia for power Valera-Medina, A.; Xiao, H.; Owen-Jones, M. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, Vol. 69 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecs.2018.07.001	journal	November 2018
A review on clean ammonia as a potential fuel for power generators Yapicioglu, Arda; Dincer, Ibrahim Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 103 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2018.12.023	journal	April 2019
Scale up and scale down issues of renewable ammonia plants: Towards modular design Sánchez, Antonio; Martín, Mariano Sustainable Production and Consumption, Vol. 16 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2018.08.001	journal	October 2018
Electrochemical Ammonia Generation Directly from Nitrogen and Air Using an Iron-Oxide/Titania-Based Catalyst at Ambient Conditions Manjunatha, Revanasiddappa; Karajić, Aleksandar; Goldstein, Valentina ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Vol. 11, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b20692	journal	January 2019
Advances in Understanding the Mechanism and Improved Stability of the Synthesis of Ammonia from Air and Water in Hydroxide Suspensions of Nanoscale Fe ₂ O ₃ Li, Fang-Fang; Licht, Stuart Inorganic Chemistry, Vol. 53, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.1021/ic5020048	journal	September 2014
Ammonia Electrosynthesis with High Selectivity under Ambient Conditions via a Li ⁺ Incorporation Strategy Chen, Gao-Feng; Cao, Xinrui; Wu, Shunqing Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 139, Issue 29 https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.7b04393	journal	July 2017
Ammonia synthesis using a stable electride as an electron donor and reversible hydrogen store Kitano, Masaaki; Inoue, Yasunori; Yamazaki, Youhei Nature Chemistry, Vol. 4, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.1476	journal	October 2012
Ambient ammonia synthesis via palladium-catalyzed electrohydrogenation of dinitrogen at low overpotential Wang, Jun; Yu, Liang; Hu, Lin Nature Communications, Vol. 9, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04213-9	journal	May 2018
High-performance artificial nitrogen fixation at ambient conditions using a metal-free electrocatalyst Qiu, Weibin; Xie, Xiao-Ying; Qiu, Jianding Nature Communications, Vol. 9, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05758-5	journal	August 2018
Over 56.55% Faradaic efficiency of ambient ammonia synthesis enabled by positively shifting the reaction potential Wang, Mengfan; Liu, Sisi; Qian, Tao Nature Communications, Vol. 10, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-08120-x	journal	January 2019
Catalysts for nitrogen reduction to ammonia Foster, Shelby L.; Bakovic, Sergio I. Perez; Duda, Royce D. Nature Catalysis, Vol. 1, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-018-0092-7	journal	July 2018
Synthesis of ammonia directly from air and water at ambient temperature and pressure Lan, Rong; Irvine, John T. S.; Tao, Shanwen Scientific Reports, Vol. 3, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep01145	journal	January 2013
Synthesis of ammonia directly from wet air using Sm _0.6 Ba _0.4 Fe _0.8 Cu _0.2 O _3−δ as the catalyst Lan, Rong; Alkhazmi, Khaled A.; Amar, Ibrahim A. Faraday Discussions, Vol. 182 https://doi.org/10.1039/C5FD00033E	journal	January 2015
A low-crystalline ruthenium nano-layer supported on praseodymium oxide as an active catalyst for ammonia synthesis Sato, Katsutoshi; Imamura, Kazuya; Kawano, Yukiko Chemical Science, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1039/C6SC02382G	journal	January 2017
Highly efficient electrochemical ammonia synthesis via nitrogen reduction reactions on a VN nanowire array under ambient conditions Zhang, Xiaoping; Kong, Rong-Mei; Du, Huitong Chemical Communications, Vol. 54, Issue 42 https://doi.org/10.1039/C8CC00459E	journal	January 2018
Electrochemical synthesis of ammonia from N ₂ and H ₂ O using a typical non-noble metal carbon-based catalyst under ambient conditions Cong, Linchuan; Yu, Zhuochen; Liu, Fangbing Catalysis Science & Technology, Vol. 9, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1039/C8CY02316F	journal	January 2019
Materials for electrochemical ammonia synthesis McPherson, Ian James; Sudmeier, Tim; Fellowes, Joshua Dalton Transactions, Vol. 48, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1039/C8DT04019B	journal	January 2019
Electrochemical synthesis of ammonia directly from air and water using a Li+/H+/NH4+ mixed conducting electrolyte Lan, Rong; Tao, Shanwen RSC Advances, Vol. 3, Issue 39 https://doi.org/10.1039/c3ra43432j	journal	January 2013
Ammonia synthesis by N2 and steam electrolysis in molten hydroxide suspensions of nanoscale Fe2O3 Licht, S.; Cui, B.; Wang, B. Science, Vol. 345, Issue 6197 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1254234	journal	August 2014
Critical Review—Identifying Critical Gaps for Polymer Electrolyte Water Electrolysis Development Babic, Ugljesa; Suermann, Michel; Büchi, Felix N. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 164, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.1441704jes	journal	January 2017
A Perspective on Low-Temperature Water Electrolysis – Challenges in Alkaline and Acidic Technology Schalenbach, Maximilian International Journal of Electrochemical Science https://doi.org/10.20964/2018.02.26	journal	February 2018
Technoeconomics and Sustainability of Renewable Methanol and Ammonia Productions Using Wind Power-based Hydrogen Demirel, Yasar Journal of Advanced Chemical Engineering, Vol. 5, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.4172/2090-4568.1000128	journal	January 2015

Similar Records

Catalysts for nitrogen reduction to ammonia

Journal Article · Wed Jul 11 20:00:00 EDT 2018 · Nature Catalysis · OSTI ID:1481881

Life cycle energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of ammonia production from renewable resources and industrial by-products

Journal Article · Tue Aug 11 20:00:00 EDT 2020 · Green Chemistry · OSTI ID:1657142

Molybdenum Carbide Electrocatalysts for Electrochemical Synthesis of Ammonia from Nitrogen: Activity and Stability

Journal Article · Mon Feb 10 19:00:00 EST 2020 · Journal of the Electrochemical Society · OSTI ID:1598911

Related Subjects

08 HYDROGEN
ammonia economy
electrochemical ammonia synthesis
hydrogen economy
techno-economic modeling

Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment for electrochemical ammonia production using proton conducting membrane

Citation Formats

References (54)

Similar Records

Related Subjects