Storage and Distribution of Low Carbon Ammonia as an Economical Hydrogen Carrier to Decarbonise the Cement Industry

英国的净零脱碳战略要求英国经济的所有部门在2050年前实现净零目标。英国混凝土和水泥行业在2018年产生了730万吨二氧化碳排放，目前约占英国二氧化碳排放量的1.5%。在该行业改用低碳燃料可能会减少16%的排放量。水泥工业在燃料转用氢气方面取得了重大进展，之前的研究证明了技术上的可行性。然而，氢的储存和运输在技术上具有挑战性，氢燃料成本高昂。该项目将评估氨作为一种低成本、低碳的氢载体的使用，评估现场氨裂解产生氢气用于水泥工业窑炉的最经济方法。创新之处在于使用氨作为氢载体，具有新颖的局部自热裂解氨制氢燃料用于水泥制造。这种技术和商业上的创新方法有可能使分散的(不在拟议的氢枢纽或产业集群内)地点使用氢气具有经济可行性。氨气因其高体积能量密度而被选为氢气载体，使其存储和运输比氢气更容易和更便宜。氨的体积氢密度比液氢高45%。该项目还将调查英国现有氨供应链网络的各个层次，以适合氨作为氢载体的运输、卸载和存储，以满足水泥行业的需求。氨正迅速被认为是全球能源市场最有前途的长期分子，但很少有可行性研究评估整个供应链的可行性。如果这在经济上可行，项目合作伙伴之一Hanson Cement将采用向其水泥窑供应氢气的计划，帮助英国水泥行业脱碳，并加速英国其他行业采用氢气。[1]矿产品协会：英国混凝土和水泥行业路线图超越净零。2020年

The UK's net zero strategy for decarbonisation requires all sectors of the UK economy to meet the net zero target by 2050\. The UK concrete and cement industry produced 7.3 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2018 and currently accounts for around 1.5% of the UK's CO2 emissions \[1\].Fuel switching to low-carbon fuels in this sector could potentially reduce emissions by 16% \[1\]. The cement industry has made significant progress with fuel switching to hydrogen, with previous studies demonstrating technical feasibility. However, the storage and transportation of hydrogen is technically challenging, and hydrogen fuel costs are prohibitive.This project will assess the use of ammonia as a low-cost, low-carbon hydrogen carrier, evaluating the most economical method of on-site ammonia cracking to generate hydrogen for use in kilns in the cement industry.The innovation lies in using ammonia as a hydrogen carrier with novel local autothermal cracking of ammonia into a hydrogen fuel for use in cement manufacturing. This technically and commercially innovative approach has the potential to make hydrogen use on dispersed (not located within proposed hydrogen hubs or industrial clusters) sites economically viable.Ammonia has been selected as a hydrogen carrier due to its high volumetric energy density, making it easier and cheaper to store and transport than hydrogen. The volumetric hydrogen density of ammonia is 45% higher than that of liquid hydrogen.The project will also investigate the various tiers of the UK's existing ammonia supply chain network for the suitable transportation, offloading and storage of ammonia as a hydrogen carrier in meeting the cement industry's needs.Ammonia is rapidly being considered the most promising long-term molecule for global energy markets, but few feasibility studies have assessed whole supply chain viability. If this is economically feasible one of the project partners, Hanson Cement, will adopt the scheme to supply hydrogen to their cement kilns, helping decarbonise the UK cement industry and accelerating the adoption of hydrogen by other UK industries.\[1\] Mineral Products Association: UK Concrete and Cement Industry Roadmap to beyond Net Zero. 2020