- Green ammonia could power the future if the risks are overcome.
- Ammonia is really dangerous when it’s handled carelessly and sometimes even when it’s handled carefully.
- Ammonia generates nearly 2 percent of global carbon emissions by itself.
- Ammonia could be the new integrated worldwide renewable energy storage and distribution solution with its relatively high energy density of around 3 kWh/litre.
- Ammonia has the capacity to replace gasoline or diesel, in combustion or as something that reacts powerfully with oxygen.
According to a new report from the U.K.’s Royal Society says, cargo ships could run on so-called green ammonia and could power the future, reports Popular Mechanics.
Can so-called green ammonia be used?
Scientists say a retrofit could turn cargo ship engines into ammonia engines.
A new report from the U.K.’s Royal Society, was presented as a policy brief to encourage use of green ammonia.
Dangers with handling of Ammonia
- Ammonia is really dangerous when it’s handled carelessly and sometimes even when it’s handled carefully.
- Its vapors are reactive and corrosive, causing ammonia poisoning that can burn and damage the respiratory system when inhaled.
- Swallowing liquid ammonia can cause similar burning and damage to the digestive system, and even exposed skin can be damaged.
Where else is Ammonia found?
- Ammonia does occur naturally in the human body and other living things, but the dangerous exposure is almost always in industrial or workplace applications.
- Cleaning products may contain ammonia, and farmers may have to handle huge quantities of it that can be dangerous even in relatively open settings.
- Agricultural use accounts for 80 percent of annual ammonia production, the Royal Society says.
- Historically, ammonia (often from urine) was used to help fix dyes and treat materials. Some home hair dye products still use it.
How can Ammonia turn “Green”?
Ammonia generates nearly 2 percent of global carbon emissions by itself.
Decarbonized ammonia
All ammonia used around the world as fertilizer should be transitioned from “carbonized” ammonia made with fossil fuels to decarbonized ammonia made without them.
Ammonia production environment
Once a production environment for green ammonia exists, the report says that there will be plentiful sources of cleaner energy with its own ready made supply chain.
The scientists say that ammonia could form the basis of a new, integrated worldwide renewable energy storage and distribution solution with its
- relatively high energy density of around 3 kWh/litre and
- existing global transportation and storage infrastructure.
Advantages of Ammonia
According to the scientists –
- Ammonia has the capacity to replace gasoline or diesel, in combustion or as something that reacts powerfully with oxygen.
- Ammonia could also be used as a helper in other green energy setups by storing thermal or chemical energy.
- Ammonia’s reactivity with air and its chemical makeup mean it could solve problems that are obstructing development of solar hydrogen.
Old stigma of ammonia
The old stigma of ammonia, which isn’t just dangerous, but also part of an industry that has accelerated climate change with its massive emissions and chemical pollutants, could be hard to shake.
This report tries to acknowledge everything that ammonia has done or caused in the past that it might “be decoupled from environmental impact”.
Addressing the drawbacks
The Royal Society believes ammonia could substantially help humankind move away from fossil fuels and toward whatever the carbon-neutral and renewable future holds, by addressing Ammonia’s downsides.
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Source: Popular Mechanics
