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author = {Liu, J and Cavagnaro, R and Deng, Z and Shao, Y and Kuo, L and Nguyen, M and Glezakou, V},
title = {Renewable Ammonia as an Energy Fuel for Ocean Exploration and Transportation},
journal = {Marine Technology Society Journal},
year = {2020},
month = {nov},
publisher = {Marine Technology Society},
volume = {54.0},
number = {6},
pages = {126--136},
doi = {10.4031/mtsj.54.6.12},
url = {https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mts/mtsj/2020/00000054/00000006/art00013},
keywords = {Hydrogen, Ammonia, Electrochemical, Catalysis, Fuel Production Pathways},
}
RIS
TI - Renewable Ammonia as an Energy Fuel for Ocean Exploration and Transportation
AU - Liu, J
AU - Cavagnaro, R
AU - Deng, Z
AU - Shao, Y
AU - Kuo, L
AU - Nguyen, M
AU - Glezakou, V
T2 - Marine Technology Society Journal
AB - Renewable power generated from ocean wave energy has faced technological and cost barriers that have hindered its penetration into utility-scale electricity markets. As an alternative, the production of chemical fuels—for example, ammonia (NH 3 ), which has high energy density (11.5 MJ/L) and facile storage properties—may open wave energy to new markets including ocean exploration and transportation. Electrochemical synthesis of NH 3 from air and water at ambient conditions has been studied and documented in the literature. Based on recent reports, it is possible to achieve an overall conversion efficiency of 10% from wave energy to NH 3 by electrochemically reacting air and water. If all the 1170-TWh/year recoverable wave energy in the United States were used to produce renewable NH 3 fuel as a replacement for hydrocarbon fuels, more than 250 million tons of CO 2 emissions every year would be eliminated without accounting for the small amount of CO 2 emission from the conversion of NH 3 . Several potential at-sea application scenarios have been proposed for renewable NH 3 fuel including production and storage for marine shipping and seasonal energy storage for Arctic exploration. Liquefied NH 3 has much higher energy density, both gravimetrically and volumetrically, than a variety of batteries; however, the energy efficiency of NH 3 is lower than that of commonly used batteries such as Li-ion batteries. The levelized cost of storing NH 3 prepared using electricity can be less than $0.2/kWh, and the storage time can exceed 10,000 h, which indicates that NH 3 could be a promising energy-storage solution that makes use of abundant wave energy. However, safety and environmental concerns involved in the use of NH 3 at sea exist and are identified and discussed in this paper. Also discussed are challenges regarding the electrocatalyst used for NH 3 synthesis and how molecular simulation may help to screen electrocatalysts with high efficiency and selectivity.
DA - 2020/11//
PY - 2020
PB - Marine Technology Society
VL - 54.0
IS - 6
SP - 126
EP - 136
UR - https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mts/mtsj/2020/00000054/00000006/art00013
DO - 10.4031/mtsj.54.6.12
LA - English
KW - Hydrogen
KW - Ammonia
KW - Electrochemical
KW - Catalysis
KW - Fuel Production Pathways
ER -
Abstract
Renewable power generated from ocean wave energy has faced technological and cost barriers that have hindered its penetration into utility-scale electricity markets. As an alternative, the production of chemical fuels—for example, ammonia (NH 3 ), which has high energy density (11.5 MJ/L) and facile storage properties—may open wave energy to new markets including ocean exploration and transportation. Electrochemical synthesis of NH 3 from air and water at ambient conditions has been studied and documented in the literature. Based on recent reports, it is possible to achieve an overall conversion efficiency of 10% from wave energy to NH 3 by electrochemically reacting air and water. If all the 1170-TWh/year recoverable wave energy in the United States were used to produce renewable NH 3 fuel as a replacement for hydrocarbon fuels, more than 250 million tons of CO 2 emissions every year would be eliminated without accounting for the small amount of CO 2 emission from the conversion of NH 3 . Several potential at-sea application scenarios have been proposed for renewable NH 3 fuel including production and storage for marine shipping and seasonal energy storage for Arctic exploration. Liquefied NH 3 has much higher energy density, both gravimetrically and volumetrically, than a variety of batteries; however, the energy efficiency of NH 3 is lower than that of commonly used batteries such as Li-ion batteries. The levelized cost of storing NH 3 prepared using electricity can be less than $0.2/kWh, and the storage time can exceed 10,000 h, which indicates that NH 3 could be a promising energy-storage solution that makes use of abundant wave energy. However, safety and environmental concerns involved in the use of NH 3 at sea exist and are identified and discussed in this paper. Also discussed are challenges regarding the electrocatalyst used for NH 3 synthesis and how molecular simulation may help to screen electrocatalysts with high efficiency and selectivity.