Optimizing Renewable Ammonia Production for a Sustainable Fertilizer Supply Chain Transition

Palys, Matthew J.; Daoutidis, Prodromos

doi:10.1002/cssc.202300563

Optimizing Renewable Ammonia Production for a Sustainable Fertilizer Supply Chain Transition

Journal Article · Tue Aug 22 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · ChemSusChem

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.202300563· OSTI ID:2575877

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Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)

Local renewable ammonia production using electrolytic hydrogen is an emerging approach to alleviate emissions attributed to synthetic nitrogen fertilizer production while also insulating against fluctuations in fertilizer prices and mitigating transportation costs and emissions. However, replacing ammonia currently produced using fossil fuels will not be immediate. To this end, we develop a supply chain transition model, which first optimizes the design and hourly operation of new renewable ammonia facilities to minimize production costs and then optimizes the annual installation timing, production scale, and location of these new renewable facilities along with ammonia transportation to meet county resolution demands. The objective is to augment and eventually replace conventional ammonia market imports in an economically competitive manner. We performed a case study for Minnesota's ammonia supply chain and found that a full transition to in-state renewable production by 2032 is optimal. This is incentivized by the U.S. federal government's clean hydrogen production credits. This transition results in 99 % reduction in carbon intensity along with stable supply costs below $475 per metric tonne. New renewable production facilities are an order of magnitude smaller than existing conventional plants. They use both wind and solar resources and operate dynamically to minimize expensive battery and hydrogen storage capacities.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)

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

Grant/Contract Number:: AR0001479

OSTI ID:: 2575877

Journal Information:: ChemSusChem, Journal Name: ChemSusChem Journal Issue: 22 Vol. 16; ISSN 1864-5631; ISSN 1864-564X

Publisher:: ChemPubSoc EuropeCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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