A project centered in Utah is being developed to make cleaner ammonia with help from an unlikely source: nuclear energy.
It's a project that, if scaled, could eliminate the more than 1% of global carbon pollution production that is generated from ammonia-making, according to the Innovation News Network. What's more, it's a unique combination of multiple cleaner energy solutions in one project — all with government backing.
Experts at Utah State University and scientists from Illinois-based Argonne National Laboratory are collaborating on the project. The work is being funded by the Department of Energy, which set aside $56 million for 68 projects last year to support the development of nuclear energy.
It all starts with making "green hydrogen" with nuclear-powered electrolysis, which uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is often made through a steam-reforming method that uses natural gas, limiting its clean-energy potential.
By using small modular fission reactors from Oregon's NuScale Power to power the electrolysis, the experts can ensure an air-pollution-free process cost-effectively, according to the report from Innovation News Network. Small modular reactors often fit the size billing, offering about one-third the power generation of typical larger reactors, making them well-suited for the task.
Hydrogen is already used to power vehicles without making planet-warming fumes, and more innovations are in development. As part of a circular benefit, ammonia is an effective way to store hydrogen, according to federal experts.
About 43% of hydrogen produced globally is used to make ammonia through another process using high heat and pressure. In fact, around 1.2% of global air pollution comes from ammonia production, all per Innovation News Network, citing other reports.
The New York Health Department notes that about 80% of industry-produced ammonia is used in fertilizer for crops. So ammonia demand increases with food demand, and we live in a hungry world with a population expected to exceed 10 billion by 2060, per U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
"A significant increase in ammonia production is expected with population growth, according to historical data. Thus, decarbonising the existing ammonia market represents a large opportunity for carbon-free ammonia to significantly reduce global [greenhouse gas] emissions," per Innovation News Network.
It's an interesting intersection of nuclear science, hydrogen, and ammonia — all eyed by experts to some degree as part of a more sustainable energy future. Eliminating harmful air pollution by even a couple of percentage points can have a great impact. Researchers expect agricultural productivity to decline as temperatures continue to rise and limit crop yields. That's just one detriment linked to our planet's warming.
The Utah and Argonne experts hope their project will lead to a scalable technique that can be deployed "essentially everywhere," according to Innovation News Network.
"The funding will help ensure researchers and educators have the resources they need to keep making a difference," the Department of Energy's Kathryn Huff, who works in the nuclear energy office, said in the press release announcing the projects.
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