Ammonia as fuel

1. Key Life Cycle Assessment Numbers
for NH3, Green and Brown Energy
NH3 Fuel Conference, Los Angeles, September 20, 2016
By: Yusuf Bicer1, Ibrahim Dincer1, Calin Zamfirescu1, Greg Vezina2*, Frank Raso2
1 Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Ontario Ins>tute of Technology;
and
2 Hydrofuel Inc., Canada
Research par>ally Funded through the Mitacs Accelerate program.

2. Key Life Cycle Assessment Numbers for NH3, Green and Brown Energy
The first study, "
Compara>ve Life Cycle Assessment of Various Ammonia
Produc>on Methods" has been peer reviewed and published
in the “Journal of Cleaner Produc>on”.
The second study, “
Compara>ve assessment of NH3 produc>on and u>liza>on in
agriculture, energy and u>li>es, and transporta>on systems”
will be similarly peer reviewed and published.
This presenta>on is based on
two recent research reports by
Hydrofuel® Inc. and the Clean
Energy Research Laboratory at
the University of Ontario
Ins>tute of Technology (UOIT).

3. Summary
In this brief summary of our research and reports, some critical facts about
ammonia and its utilization are discussed.
The benefits of ammonia utilization compared to other conventional fuels are
comparatively presented.
The cost and driving range considerations for ammonia fueled vehicles are
considered for comparisons.
In addition, environmental impacts of various fuel driven vehicles are
comparatively assessed including some energy and exergy efficiency
calculations.
Furthermore, the ammonia production technologies being developed by Dr.
Dincer’s group at University of Ontario Institute of Technology are presented
for further understanding of clean energy utilization opportunities.

4. 1. Key Facts About Ammonia
is the second largest synthesized industrial chemical in the world.
is a significant hydrogen carrier and transportation fuel that does not contain
any carbon atoms and has a high hydrogen ratio.
does not emit direct greenhouse gas emission during utilization
can be produced from various type of resources ranging from oil sands to
renewables.
is a suitable fuel to be transferred using steel pipelines with minor
modifications which are currently used for natural gas and oil.
can be used in all types of combustion engines, gas turbines, burners as a
sustainable fuel with only small modifications and directly in fuel cells which
is a very important advantage compared to other type of fuels.
brings a non-centralized power generation via fuel cells, stationary generators,
furnaces/boilers and enables smart grid applications.
can be used as a refrigerant for cooling purposes in the car.

5. Figure 1 shows a pie-chart of major sources of ammonia production based on various
feedstocks world-wide. It is clearly seen that natural gas is the main source of ammonia
production, accounting for 72%, respectively.
• Fig.1. Sources of global ammonia production based on feedstock use (data from IEA, 2012).
Others
1%
Fuel oil
4%
1%
Coal
22%
Natural gas
72%

6. 2. Ammonia as Low Cost Fuel
• Ammonia is a cost effective fuel per unit energy stored onboard compared
to methanol, CNG, hydrogen, gasoline and LPG as shown in Fig. 2.
Table.1 Fuel costs comparison supplied to compression ignition engine
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Cost in Energy
(C$/GJ)

7. Ammonia can be used as a mixture fuel in the vehicles. Ammonia has
lower cost per unit mass (kg) compared to conventional fuels.
Table 1 presents the fuel energy costs for ammonia and diesel fuels including mixtures.
Table.1 Fuel costs comparison supplied to compression ignition engine
40% Ammonia/
60% diesel
40% Ammonia/
60% Dimethyl ether
Ammonia Diesel fuel
LHV (MJ/kg) 32.6 24.5 18.6 42
Fuel rate (kg/kWh) 0.316 0.42 0.554 0.245
Fuel price (US$/kg) $0.95 $0.70 $0.61 $1.18
Fuel energy cost
(US$/kWh)
$0.30 $0.30 $0.34 $0.29

8. Fig. 3 shows that on-board storage tank for ammonia is in the same price level
with compressed natural gas and gasoline vehicles.
Fig. 3. On-board storage tank costs for various fueled vehicles
Gasoline, diesel $100
Ammonia (20 bar) $300
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) $300
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle (70 bar) $3,000
Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (70 bar) $4,000
$10,000
Electricity: ba`eries
$- $2,000 $4,000 $6,000 $8,000 $10,000
Cost (US$) / storage tank

9. Ammonia yields the lowest cost per unit km traveled in comparison with
other fuels as illustrated in Fig. 4.
Fig. 4. Driving cost of various fuels
0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
Ammonia Hydrogen LPG Gasoline
Driving Cost (C$/km)

10. 3. Ammonia as the Least Expensive Fuel for Vehicles
As comparatively illustrated in Fig. 5, ammonia driven
vehicle can travel 500 km with a fuel cost of 15 C$.
• There is an advantage of by-product refrigeration
which reduces the costs and maintenance.
• Some additional advantages of ammonia are
commercial availability and viability, global
distribution network and easy handling experience.

11. 540 km Gasolin
eC$
44
Hybrid930 km
C$
43.7
330 km
LPGC$
20
180 km Methanol
C$
13
CNG100 km
C$ 4
Hydrogen
75 km
C$
4.2
C$ 15
500 km
Ammonia

12. Ammonia is still green if produced from fossil fuel based methods.
The following results show the life cycle environmental impact of various
fueled vehicles from raw material extraction to consumption in the vehicle
per traveled km where ammonia is produced from nitrogen from air and
hydrogen from hydrocarbon cracking.
Fig. 6. Life cycle comparison of global warming results for various vehicles
0.27
0.26
0.25
0.24
0.23
0.22
0.21
0.2
0.19
0.18
0.17
0.16
0.15
Gasoline Vehicle Hybrid Electric
Vehicle
LPG Vehicle Diesel Vehicle CNG Vehicle Ammonia Vehicle
Global warming 500a (kg CO2 eq/km)

13. Fig. 7 compares the global warming potential of ammonia driven vehicle
where ammonia is either produced from solar energy or hydrocarbon cracking.
Note that global warming potential of ammonia driven vehicle is similar for
solar energy and fossil hydrocarbon based options.
Fig. 7 Comparison of life cycle environmental impact of ammonia fueled vehicle from hydrocarbons and solar photovoltaics.
0.18
0.16
0.14
0.12
0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
Ammonia Vehicle
(Source from Hydrocarbon Cracking)
Ammonia Vehicle
(Source from Solar Photovoltaic)
Global Warming Poten>al (kg CO2 eq/km)

14. One should of course point out that ammonia is less toxic compared
to electric and hybrid electric vehicles as illustrated in Fig 8.
Fig. 8. Life cycle comparison of human toxicity results for various vehicles
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
Ammonia Vehicle Hybrid Electric Vehicle Electric Vehicle
Human toxicity 500a (kg 1,4-DB eq/km)

15. 5. Environmental Impact of Various Fuel Productions
Fig. 9 shows the comparison of ozone layer depletion values for various
transportation fuels. Ammonia has lowest ozone layer depletion even if it is
produced from steam methane reforming and partial oxidation of heavy oil.
Fig. 9. Ozone layer depletion during productions of various fuels
4.50E-07
4.00E-07
3.50E-07
3.00E-07
2.50E-07
2.00E-07
1.50E-07
1.00E-07
5.00E-08
0.00E+00
Propane/
butane, at
refinery
Petrol,
unleaded, at
refinery
Diesel, low-
sulphur, at
refinery
Ammonia,
steam
reforming,
Ammonia,
par>al
oxida>on,
Ammonia,
hydrocarbon
cracking, at
plant
Ammonia,
wind energy,
at plant
liquid, at plant liquid, at plant
Ozone layer deple>on (kg CFC-11 eq/kg fuel)

16. Note that production of fuel ammonia yields lower greenhouse
gas emissions compared to petrol and propane production as
shown in Fig. 10.
Fig. 10. Greenhouse gas emissions during production of various fuels
D I E S E L , L O W - S U L P H U R , A T R E F I N E R Y
A M M O N I A , F R O M W I N D E N E R G Y , A T P L A N T
P R O P A N E / B U T A N E , A T R E F I N E R Y
P E T R O L , U N L E A D E D , A T R E F I N E R Y
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
Gloabal warming poten^al (kg CO2 eq/kg fuel)

17. 6. Environmental Impact of Ammonia Production
Fig. 11 compares the environmental impacts of various ammonia production pathways.
Ammonia from renewable resources has the least environmental impact.
Ammonia from hydrocarbon cracking and underground coal gasification is the
most environmentally benign option among conventional methods.
Fig. 11. Global warming values of all ammonia production methods
Tidal&Wave Electrolysis
Municipal Waste Electrolysis
Geothermal Electrolysis
Biomass Gasifica>on
Hydropower (River) Electrolysis
Wind Electrolysis
Naphta Cracking
Underground Coal Gasifica>on with Carbon Capture
Nuclear High Temperatre Electrolysis
Photovoltaic Electrolysis
Steam Methane Reforming
Par>al Oxida>on of Heavy Oil
Coal Gasifica>on
Nuclear 3 Step Cu-Cl Cycle
Natural Gas Electrolysis
Heavy Oil Electrolysis
Coal Electrolysis
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

18. 7. Ammonia Production by Various Methods
Here, comparative illustration of energy and exergy efficiencies for various ammonia production
options are shown in Figs. 12 and 13.
Fig. 12. Comparison of energy efficiency values for various ammonia production methods
Solar PV
Municipal waste based electrolysis
Geothermal
Wind
Coal fired based electrolysis
Heavy oil based electrolysis
Coal gasifica^on
Nuclear high temperature electrolysis
Steam methane reforming
Biomass Gasifica^on
Nuclear 3 step CuCl cycle
Heavy oil par^al oxida^on
UCG with CCS
Hydropower (on river) electrolysis
Tidal & Waves
Underground coal gasifica^on
Hydropower
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
ENERGY EFFICIENCY (%)

19. Note that hydropower and underground coal gasification based ammonia
production has the highest energy and exergy efficiencies.
Fig. 13. Comparison of exergy efficiency values for various ammonia production methods
Hydropower
Underground coal gasifica^on
Hydropower (on river) electrolysis
Tidal & Waves
UCG with CCS
Heavy oil par^al oxida^on
Biomass Gasifica^on
Coal gasifica^on
Steam methane reforming
Nuclear high temperature electrolysis
Coal fired based electrolysis
Wind
Nuclear 3 step CuCl cycle
Municipal waste based electrolysis
Geothermal
Solar
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Exergy efficiency (%)

20. 8. Research & Development & Innovation
8.1 Ammonia from Hydrocarbons
Ammonia can be produced from any hydrogen including hydrocarbons using
cracking of hydrocarbons into hydrogen and carbon. Methane is a favored
option for hydrogen production from a hydrocarbon because of its high H to C
ratio, availability and low cost.
Furthermore, the carbon produced can be sold as a co-product into the carbon
black market which could be utilized in inks, paints, tires, batteries, etc. or
sequestered, stored, and used as a clean fuel for electricity production. The
sequestering or storing of solid carbon requires much less development than
sequestering gaseous CO2.
Bitumen which can be obtained from oil sands in Alberta can also be a possible
source of hydrocarbons for ammonia production. UOIT is in the progress of
developing new methods for hydrocarbon cracking using microwaves and
thermal plasma disassociation technique as shown in Fig. 14.

21. Schematic diagram of hydrocarbon cracking based ammonia production being
developed at UOIT
Fig. 14. Schematic diagram of hydrocarbon cracking based ammonia production being developed at UOIT
Low Cost
Hydropower
Liquid
Natural
Gas (LNG)
Ammonia
(NH3)
Excess Natural
Gas
Carbon
Electricit
y
Evaporator
Evaporator
Micro wave Plasma
icity
Hydrogen
Disassociation
High
Haber-Bosch
with No Main
Compressor
Ammonia
Synthesis
Pressure
heat
High Pressure
Nitrogen
Hydroelectric
Power Plant Electricit
y
Excess heat
Electr
Power High
Pressure

22. 8.2 Ammonia from Solar Energy
• Solar energy based hydrogen and ammonia production arises as one of the most
sustainable solutions of today’s critical energy, environmental and sustainability issues.
• Since solar energy cannot be directly stored or continuously supplied, it is required
to convert solar energy to a storable type of energy.
• Ammonia is a significant candidate as a sustainable energy carrier.
• The main objective of studies at UOIT is to develop novel solar based ammonia
production systems.
• In one of the proposed technique as shown in Fig.15 , the hybrid system maximizes
the utilized solar spectrum by combining photochemical and electrochemical hydrogen
production in a photo- electrochemical system and by integrating generated hydrogen
as a reactant in the electrolytic ammonia synthesis processes such as molten salt based
systems.
• Current studies in molten salt based electrochemical processes have made some
novel developments. Using hydrogen and atmospheric air, combining them into a
molten salt of NaOH-KOH with nano-Fe2O3 (nano powder) as the catalyst to produce
ammonia is the developing technology at the moment.

23. Diagram of solar energy based ammonia production being developed at UOIT

24. 9. UOIT / Hydrofuel Inc. Collaboration
Hydrofuel Inc. and UIOT are collaborating on several other projects including:
• Heat energy Scale-up of UOIT-patented technology for ammonia
decomposition and separation to generate hydrogen from ammonia for the
purposes of installing the system into a vehicle motor engine.
Patent US8272353, CA 2654823 “Methods and Apparatus for Using
Ammonia as a Sustainable Fuel, Refrigerant and NOx Reduction”.
• Develop a pre-commercial prototype of a reliable ammonia-water heat
engine for power, heating and cooling generation using low-grade heat.
Patent (pending) US 20140053544A1, CA 2824759A1, “Heat Engine
System for Power and Heat Generation”.
• Develop prototype(s) for solid state ammonia synthesis and direct ammonia
fuel cells.

25. 10. Closing Remarks
The reports concluded that ammonia is a clean and sustainable transportation and power
generation fuel, and it emerges as the most environmentally benign option compared to
commonly used traditional fuels and renewable energy in many applications.
The life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from production of ammonia is much lower than
the emissions coming out of other fuels during their life cycles.
Ammonia does not emit direct greenhouse gas emissions during utilization in the vehicles
because of the fact that it is a carbon-free fuel. The driving range of ammonia driven vehicles
is higher, and the cost per unit km traveled becomes much less.
Furthermore, ammonia usage in the transportation and electrical power generation sector
can significantly decrease the amounts of greenhouse gas emissions in the world.
Dr. Dincer’s group at UOIT and Hydrofuel Inc. are developing various innovative ammonia
production and utilization technologies using traditional and renewable sources of energy.
Hydrofuel Inc. will release diesel-ammonia multi-fuels 100-200 kw generators in 2017.