| New Vehicle Burns Ammonia! Emissions: N2 and H20 |
| Written by Philip Proefrock | ||
| Wednesday, 08 August 2007 | ||
Right now, a uniquely modified pickup truck is making its way across the country from Detroit to San Francisco. The truck uses a special fuel, something widely available throughout the country, but until now, not really considered as an alternative fuel. The truck is carrying three tanks of ammonia in its bed. In addition to being an economical alternative to petroleum fuels, the ammonia fueled vehicle has much cleaner emissions and emits far fewer greenhouse gases. The NH3car (NH3 is the chemical formula for ammonia) is a demonstration project of a University of Michigan graduate student in physics who is studying the use of ammonia as an alternative fuel. The test vehicle can be run either on 100% gasoline or on an 80% ammonia / 20% gasoline mixture, and can be switched from one to the other at any time. According to a news story, the test vehicle gets 27 miles per gallon whether it is running on gasoline or the gas/ammonia mix. Whenever gasoline is higher that $2.10/gallon, it becomes more economical to use the fuel mix.
More importantly, however, the vehicle produces much cleaner emissions than a fossil fuel burning vehicle. Moving to an ammonia fuel system would drastically cut transportation CO2 emissions. Because there is no carbon in ammonia (molecularly, ammonia is one nitrogen atom and three hydrogen atoms), there is no carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide in the emissions from the ammonia combustion. According to the vehicle team, the only by-products are water vapor and nitrogen gas. "On the basis of either weight or volume, ammonia's the next best thing when liquid petroleum fuels can't be used,'' said Grannell, a University of Michigan doctoral student of applied physics. "I believe this is the only economically viable ... replacement for liquid petroleum fuels, especially for transportation use." Of course, there are drawbacks. Commercial ammonia needs to be manufactured. Unlike fossil fuels, it is not a resource that can simply be mined or pumped from the ground. And most commercial processes for manufacturing ammonia rely on natural gas as a feedstock. But ammonia fueled transportation may be a viable possibility. The NH3car team has also stated that the conversion from gasoline to ammonia could cost consumers less than $1,000. An important question would be whether or not the price of ammonia would remain stable if it began to be widely used as a fuel, or if its price would rise to make it uneconomical to use. Distribution of course, being another factor. Ammonia needs to be stored in pressurized tanks and at low temperatures in order to remain a liquid. Like liquid natural gas or hydrogen, a whole new range of storage and distribution equipment would be needed in order to have widespread use of ammonia as a fuel. But with all of the potential benefits it offers, it may yet be worth exploring.
via: Ann Arbor News
Comments
(37)
There's amonia in pee right?
written by Tarandon , August 08, 2007
So I could pee in the gastank and it will still run? Sweet!
Wow
written by Joe , August 08, 2007
This would be a great solution to a huge problem in Mi right now. British Petroleum is currently dumping amonia into our lake. Maybe if it's useful, it won't be seen as waste.
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written by Michael Pereckas , August 08, 2007
Completely nonsensical. Ammonia is, of course, made from natural gas. If you want to burn natural gas, go ahead and burn natural gas. It is an excellent fuel. Converting it, with considerable energy use and expense, to a toxic (though somewhat easier to store) form for use as fuel is not sensible. Especially since natural gas is not especially abundant anymore in the first place.
Absurd
written by Edward , August 08, 2007
While this is an interesting idea from the CO2 reduction perspective of global warming, it utterly neglects the fact that the combustion of ammonia will release some form of NOX gas, which is also a potent atmospheric contaminant that can lead to acid rain. An ammonia-based fuel will only change the contaminant entering the atomsphere... not eliminate contamination.
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written by orig_club_soda , August 09, 2007
There are so many problems with this - prssurized storage, manufacturing, energy to create, technology to store. When these guys did a cost comparison did they compute it from beginning to end of the cycle of the fuel? If it isnt already more expensive than fossifils, we all know that any hint of demand will cause the cost per unit to skyrocket.
Anhydrous ammonia
written by Joel , August 09, 2007
Tarandon and Joe,
The flammable sort of ammonia is what's known as "anhydrous ammonia": it's a gas under normal conditions, and it's used in industrial refrigerators as a more-powerful, cheaper, but slighty more dangerous substitute for Freon. There isn't ammonia in your urine unless you "let it mellow" a little, so that bacteria can ferment the urea into ammonium hydroxide. This hydroxide is the same stuff as the industrial waste BP is dumping, and that's in Windex. It takes some energy to separate this ion from the water, especially from a dilute solution such as stagnant eu de toilette or pre-algal-bloom lake water; probably much more energy than can be recovered by burning it. One thing I will say about ammonia: if we decided to run vehicles by electrolyzing hydrogen, it makes sense to store that hydrogen as ammonia, especially since the extra N2 molecules from combustion will help engine efficiency if the engine is internal combustion or a solid oxide fuel cell/heat engine combination. Not that it makes any sense to store energy as hydrogen...
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written by Joel , August 09, 2007
Come to think of it, has EcoGeek reported on SOFCs yet? You might talk to my professor from undergrad, Lutgard DeJonghe. He works at LBNL.
Unsafe
written by C , August 09, 2007
This will never be a commercial reality, while an interesting study for someone earning a few letters after their name. Anhydrous Ammonia is way too dangerous to work with. Even if if could be manufactured in a renewable fashion, you would have better luck getting people to put plutonium in their vehicles. Besides being heavily regulated due to it's ability to make explosives, I can't count he number of burn victims I've known over the years from this stuff. Many amputees and blind or dead farmers in my neck of the woods.
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written by Blahh , August 09, 2007
This will just make the price of ammonium nitrate jump. That will in turn make farmers pay more to fertilize their crops. which will further up the price up meat since the cost of feed will double. Then everyone will be complaining that a burger from even McDonald's costs $10. This could end up causing more harm than good in the end.
Happy Ass
written by me , August 09, 2007
I personally like the picture of the smiling ass Ad to the right. nothing like having a happy ass.
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written by yo Ima wigga, yo. , August 09, 2007
True dat. Gotta love happy ass.
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written by Wayne , August 09, 2007
Nitrous oxide emissions NOXXE from cars is created when air, containing nitrogen (N2) and oxygen, is raised to high temperatures; such as those in the combustion chamber of a car. Running a car with a leaner fuel mixture or advancing the timing to much is enough to create unacceptable emissions.
Ammonia is basically a nitrogen compound NH3, NH4 ... so if the fuel oxygen mixture is off it would be reasonable to assume you would either have NOX or unburned hydrogen compounds. Neither of which is good. It is interesting research, ammonia is a compound that naturally forms when proteins break down. A lot of people who have fish tanks know about the stuff. So it may be able to be created from food waste. But I don't think it would be a good choice for autos, maybe generators that run at a constant load so the mixture does not need to keep changing because of heat and demand.
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written by Dude. , August 09, 2007
Just legalize hemp and allow distribution of biodiesel across the nation.
Keep hemp out of the arguement.
written by ack. , August 09, 2007
Keep your own agenda out of this issue.
Hemp is one of the worst candidates for producing bio-diesel, and if you've even looked at the facts, you'd be well aware of that. The amount of oil produced by an acre of hemp pales to many other sources such as rapeseed or sunflower. I don't give a damn either way about legalizing industrial hemp, but it isn't viable for fuel production, and the fact that it's not legal isn't in the top 1000 reasons why bio-diesel isn't more prevalent. Keep moving, send your pro-hemp comments to the paper industry, where it has a modicum of value. Both hemp and ammonia are NOT the answer.
Finally!
written by Chris Werner , August 09, 2007
Finally I see comments that say storing energy as hyrdorgen doesn't make sense. I see other responses talking about how hard distribution and packaging of ammonia would be.
Where were all you people when 'those in charge' decided that hyrdrogen and fuel cells were the wave of the future? I've read the government has spent 1.2 trillion (yes trillion) on fuel cell and hyrdrogen research.  You could use that to lower our gas prices or research electric cars, or built a maglev/bullet train infrastructure. But instead we spend our money on a stupid pipe dream and on the failing air line business. I other news, I too like the happy ass  .
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written by P Proefrock , August 09, 2007
Great comments here everyone.
I have similar concerns about NOX emissions from this system, and I'm sure there are other concerns to be looked at. There's a lot of development to be done before this stands a chance of seeing mainstream production. We're going to see if we can get an interview with the guys behind this to answer some of your questions.
Absurd... but no concerns about NOx
written by Merlin , August 10, 2007
NOx is scrubbed from the atmosphere by ammonia in commercial power plants. NOx is not really a concern. What IS a concern, is that ammonia is toxic and will burn the shit out of your eyes in high vapor concentrations. A car crash would fuck people up for a huge radius around the crash site. BIG BIG BIG safety concerns. Bad idea.
Use of Ammonia even in Commercial refrig
written by David Rochlin , August 10, 2007
I use large commecial refrigerators, and my understanding is that Ammonia as a refrigerant is pretty much restricted to industrial/wholesale sectors. In my retail store, a large Ammonia system would put the public at risk. A leak inside a building is probably equivalent to a chemical weapons, leak. Furthermore, Ammonia is notoriously corrosive in refrigeration, applications, and the compressors and pipes that handle it, usually have to be stainless steel, or they won't contain it for long. Think about how robust a system would have to be, to withstand road vibrations, and not leak, not to mention that it would need to survive a collision, from time to time. It is national news, whenever an ammonia tanker car, tips over, somewhere, on railroad tracks...
Ammonia is a non-starter
written by Wood , August 10, 2007
Anhydrous ammonia is not a "more powerful" refrigerant. It is marginally more efficient than CFC and HCFC based refrigerants and, pound for pound, is significantly cheaper. It is, however, pretty dangerous stuff. Even small leaks can be lethal, which is the main reason why ammonia isn't used more widely in HVAC, despite the economic benefits. Most ammonia-based refrigeration is found in industry on large scale: think commercial ice plants and cold storage warehouses.
This will never fly.
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Water Vapor Emmissions
written by Kyle , August 10, 2007
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't water vapor the strongest greenhouse gas? As I understand it, the effect of one molecule of water vapor traps like 16,000 times as much heat as a molecule of carbon dioxide? This might turn out to be a decent alternative to gasoline economically, but it doesn't look like it's a decent alternative environmentally.
NOX removal by NH3
written by Edward , August 13, 2007
Correct me if I'm wrong, but NOX removal by NH3 involves the mixing of NH3 with the NOX post-fuel combustion, correct? If so, your argument is specious. Apples and oranges. Combustion of NH3 directly could potentially increase the amount of NOX released by an engine under non-optimal conditions. Granted, this system could be carefully tooled so that all non-combusted NH3 reacts with the NOX produced to minimize the actual NOX (and uncombusted NH3) released; however, this would take some serious fine tuning, and if the system went out of whack it could lead to some very serious chemical contamination.
Dead in the water
written by Nari , August 13, 2007
"And most commercial processes for manufacturing ammonia rely on natural gas as a feedstock."
It's Peak Gas we need to worry about, not Peak Oil -- http://www.energybulletin.net/14058.html
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written by Jaime , August 20, 2007
when people are exited about alternative energy sources for automotive use, I sometimes smile..
for instance the all to popular "hibrid electric" cars......OK plug it in..it might save the consumer on the price of gasoine, but is is twice as costly for the earth! does any one think about or even know energy conversion ratios? On the VERY best day, a natural gas fired plant will convert only 48% of the usable energy in the natural gas in to USABLE energy on the electric grid. 
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written by Tory , August 21, 2007
FYI...the bloggers are doing a pretty good job of bringing out the pros and cons of NH3 as a transportation fuel. There was one fact missed with regards to NH3 as a refrigerant...on a BTU per pound basis NH3 is 466 btu/lb vs 68 btu/lb for the HCFC alternate. That's a lot less pounds of refrigerant (1/7) to make the system cool.
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written by Burnerjack , September 04, 2007
Electrical generation through Concentrated Thermal Solar is by far the most viable nontransportation energy source when looked at all manner of cost/environmental impact. The technology is here now as is the distribution infrastructure. Batteries WILL be developed to apply this answer to transportation as a matter of profit and public will. Investment in this scenario will not only prove PROFITABLE and moral, it will also hasten its eventual mainsteam use. According to the status quo, THIS is the inconvienient truth. Everything else is just a diversion like a shiny object.
Ammonia production
written by Griff , October 17, 2007
I must confess that I don not completely understand the safety aspects of ammonia. On the other hand, there are huge amounts of natural gas available in the middle east, and the only viable proposal up to now for transporting it is LNG, which has huge problems of cost and safety. Might not conversion of the natural gas to ammonia, and then shipping to our shores possibly make sense?
fuck me sideways... oh yea!
written by dick suckwell , November 05, 2007
were fucked eather way... so we might as well....
yea..
written by female cum drinker , November 05, 2007
i agree... were fucked eather way...
fuck the world, fuck the government
superb advancment
written by hira , December 05, 2007
i am the student of chemical engineering and searching for alternatives i come across the article i read the whole article i think it is a good advancment in the discovery of new alternatives of petroleum as a fuel and the main thing which attract me is that by product are only the water vapours and the nitrogen gas but don't you think that it will cause a imbalance in the production of ammonia as the fertilizer and its uses and what will be cost of it .
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written by hira , December 05, 2007
will you tell me the safety point of view of the ammonia is it safe to use?
just asking
written by fox , February 16, 2008
What happens if ammonia based water such as BPs waste going in the lake is electrolized? Making Hydroxie is not that difficult and adding more hydrogen from the ammonia just increases the gases.I'm not interested in the alternative fuel for cars conversation.Would this concept require more amps?and would that remove any gains for electrical out put?
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written by Don , April 25, 2008
Many years ago I worked on a project that used nuclear power to produce liquid ammonia for fueling cars, trucks and planes. This concept used electricity from the powerplant to produce nitrogen from air, hydrogen from sea water (electrolyis), and liquid ammonia from the combination of the two. The process uses materials that occur abundantly in nature,is technically feasible, frees vichles from hydrocarbon usage (e.g., oil), reduces our dependency on foreign oil and is eco-friendly (production and combustion). The project was discontinued because gasoline/diesel fuels were cheaper than the ammonia fuel that was produced at that time. I wonder if it's time to revisit this concept.
At Last...
written by Tykeboy , July 11, 2008
At last someone has got to the nub of Ammonia as a transport fuel. The use of non-hydrocarbon sourced energy is critical to this as a "zero carbon" fuel alternative. Clearly converting fossil fuel methane is not sustainable and represents little benefit to the world.
The infrastructure for the production and handling of Ammonia exists. Improvements are required, yes, but the basics exist. NOx emissions can also be sorted out, as they are in modern diesel exhausts. Hydrogen is not a realistic alternative if only due to its specific energy deficiency. I really hope that this technology gets the same level of investment mentioned above (i.e. trillions).
Great News
written by Jatin , August 02, 2008
This concept will surely work. It is only people who do not know Ammonia well enough say it cannot work. Anyone who wants to Commercialise this concept can contact us. If anyone has anymore such uses of Ammonia, please write to us.
NH3 from seawater
written by carlos , August 15, 2008
Matt Simmons is championing wind power in Maine, to produce electricity, electrolysis to make the NH3, and fuel cars. We already use LPG- which requires special tanks, etc- and it works!!
We have a liquid fuel problem in that we are running out of oil production capacity (Not oil per se), and have th fuel infrastructure there. This can work. | ||
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