Simulation and economic assessment of a small ammonia production plant using electricity purchased in the day-ahead market


Simulation and economic assessment of a small ammonia production plant using electricity purchased in the day-ahead market

Rodriguez Garcia, G.; Bergander, S.; Hampel, U.

Ammonia is one of the most highly produced chemicals in the world, being the source of all nitrogen-based fertilizers. Its conventional production relies on fossil fuels reforming as its source of hydrogen, cryogenic air separation for nitrogen, and the Haber-Bosch process for the ammonia synthesis itself. This route has made ammonia production responsible for the consumption of 1% of all energy worldwide, and for the emissions of 298 Mt CO2 eq./year. In a future where most energy comes from fluctuating sources, such as the one envisioned in the Energiewende, energy intensive industries like ammonia production would need to adapt its operation to mimic that of energy generation. A potential alternative for ammonia production is to obtain hydrogen and nitrogen from water electrolysis, and pressure swing adsorption (PSA) respectively. In our effort for the flexibilization of the chemical industry, we have designed a small ammonia production plant using these technologies. With it we intend to cover the fertilizing needs of a large German farm (1,000 ha), requiring a minimum production of 100 t NH3/year. As a first step, we purchased the electricity used for the water electrolyzer in the day-ahead market. The rest of the plant relied on a steady industrial supply. Our first results indicated the plant was not profitable. The main reason behind this are the capital investment in the intermediate hydrogen storage unit

  • Contribution to proceedings
    Oberlausitzer Energiesymposyum & Zittauer Energieseminar, 07.-08.11.2019, Zittau, Deutschland
    Sektorkopplung - eine Herausforderung, Zittau: Hochschule Zittau/Görlitz, 978-3-00-064125-1, 49-53

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Publ.-Id: 30114