Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Ammonia-Based Electricity

Andrea J. Boero, Kevin Kardux, Marina Kovaleva, Daniel A. Salas, Jacco Mooijer, Syed Mashruk, Michael Townsend, Kevin Rouwenhorst, Agustin Valera-Medina and Angel D. Ramirez
Additional contact information
Andrea J. Boero: Facultad de Ingeniería en Mecánica y Ciencias de la Producción, Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Campus Gustavo Galindo, Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, P.O. Box 13 09-01-5863, Guayaquil 090902, Ecuador
Kevin Kardux: Proton Ventures, Karel Doormanweg 5, 3115 JD Schiedam, The Netherlands
Marina Kovaleva: College of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK
Daniel A. Salas: Facultad de Ingeniería en Mecánica y Ciencias de la Producción, Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Campus Gustavo Galindo, Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, P.O. Box 13 09-01-5863, Guayaquil 090902, Ecuador
Jacco Mooijer: Proton Ventures, Karel Doormanweg 5, 3115 JD Schiedam, The Netherlands
Syed Mashruk: College of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK
Michael Townsend: Facultad de Ingeniería en Mecánica y Ciencias de la Producción, Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Campus Gustavo Galindo, Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, P.O. Box 13 09-01-5863, Guayaquil 090902, Ecuador
Kevin Rouwenhorst: Proton Ventures, Karel Doormanweg 5, 3115 JD Schiedam, The Netherlands
Agustin Valera-Medina: College of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK
Angel D. Ramirez: Facultad de Ingeniería en Mecánica y Ciencias de la Producción, Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Campus Gustavo Galindo, Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, P.O. Box 13 09-01-5863, Guayaquil 090902, Ecuador

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 20, 1-20

Abstract: In recent years, several researchers have studied the potential use of ammonia (NH 3 ) as an energy vector, focused on the techno-economic advantages and challenges for full global deployment. The use of ammonia as fuel is seen as a strategy to support decarbonization; however, to confirm the sustainability of the shift to ammonia as fuel in thermal engines, a study of the environmental profile is needed. This paper aims to assess the environmental life cycle impacts of ammonia-based electricity generated in a combined heat and power cycle for different ammonia production pathways. A cradle-to-gate assessment was developed for both ammonia production and ammonia-based electricity generation. The results show that electrolysis-based ammonia from renewable and nuclear energy have a better profile in terms of global warming potential (0.09–0.70 t CO 2 -eq/t NH 3 ), fossil depletion potential (3.62–213.56 kg oil-eq/t NH 3 ), and ozone depletion potential (0.001–0.082 g CFC-11-eq/t NH 3 ). In addition, surplus heat for district or industrial applications offsets some of the environmental burden, such as a more than 29% reduction in carbon footprint. In general, ammonia-based combined heat and power production presents a favorable environmental profile, for example, the carbon footprint ranges from ?0.480 to 0.003 kg CO 2 -eq/kWh.

Keywords: ammonia; hydrogen; LCA; carbon footprint; environmental impact; green ammonia; blue ammonia; pink ammonia; gray ammonia; energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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