14TSB_ATC_IR Renewable Fertiliser Production to Improve Agricultural Efficiencies & Avoid Environmental Harm

氮肥在农业中用于为作物生长提供必需的营养。为了最大限度地提高产量，它们通常含有氨或尿素（由氨和二氧化碳制成）。由天然气制成的氨占全球天然气消费量的5%（占世界能源的2%）。ITM Power最近的研究表明，使用可再生能源生产氨是可行的，其中氢是通过电解水和从空气中捕获的氮来产生的。该项目将设计和建造一个氨生产和尿素合成的综合中试规模系统。该装置随后将在英国的一个农场进行演示。通过在使用点附近以较小的规模生产化肥，将有可能分散化肥生产，减少用于干燥运输产品的能源消耗，减少与化肥生产和运输相关的温室气体排放，改善英国的粮食安全，并从化肥生产和系统销售中提供出口收入。这项建议涉及初级作物生产和农业集约化的需要，同时减少工业对环境的不利影响。英国农业技术战略将不可持续的世界自然资源消耗率确定为全球粮食系统的两个主要缺陷之一。该建议解决了减少氮肥生产对环境影响的需要，这对于实现农业土地生产力的必要提高至关重要。目前的生产是一个大规模的工业过程，包括从天然气中生产H2，氢气与来自空气的N2催化反应形成无水氨。该项目将开发一种分散合成氨基肥料（尿素）的技术，利用可再生电力电解水产生的氢气。该装置的规模将使化肥生产接近使用点，进一步减少与运输有关的排放。该项目将展示一种脱碳生产和运输氨基肥料的途径。前瞻报告《粮食和农业的未来》估计，包括与化肥生产有关的温室气体排放在内，农业占温室气体排放的12%至14%。农业生产使用了全球4%的化石燃料能源（560gw /17.7 EJ），其中50%用于肥料生产中的固氮。该技术的广泛应用有可能大幅减少化肥生产的温室气体排放。《前瞻报告》还指出，化石燃料价格对粮食价格的巨大影响，其中一个重要部分是燃料价格对化肥生产成本的影响。通过将尿素合成与化石燃料消耗脱钩，该技术有可能使英国农业免受未来生产成本增加和价格波动的重要来源的影响。该过程的分布式农场规模有望使英国农民降低生产成本，并从本地和潜在出口市场的尿素供应中建立新的收入来源。这项技术可以帮助降低英国农产品的成本，也可以保障农业部门的就业。将尿素生产过程部署在靠近可再生能源发电来源的地方，为发电机提供了许多潜在的好处，包括降低电网连接成本、降低电网削减成本的潜力和提高价格确定性。这些节省转化为化肥厂运营商进一步的潜在收入来源。该工厂的部署还可以增加可连接的可再生能源发电的容量，从而带来进一步的间接环境效益。该项目以商业为主导，涉及英国技术和工程领域的中小企业，同时也借鉴了英国学术界的优势。

Nitrogenous fertilisers are used in agriculture to provide essential nutrients for crop growth. To maximise yield they normally contain ammonia or urea, (made from ammonia & CO2). Ammonia made from natural gas is responsible for 5% of global natural gas consumption (2% of world energy). Recent work by ITM Power has shown it is feasible to produce ammonia using renewable energy, where hydrogen is produced by the electrolysis of water and nitrogen captured from air. The project will design and build an integrated pilot scale system for ammonia production and urea synthesis. The unit will then be demonstrated on a UK farm. By producing fertiliser at a smaller scale, near to the point of use, it will be possible to decentralise fertiliser production, negating energy use to dry product for transport, reduce GHG emissions associated with fertiliser production and transport, improve UK food security and provide export revenues from fertiliser produced and system sales.This proposal relates to primary crop production and the need for intensification of agriculture while reducing the industry's adverse impacts on the environment. UK Agri-Tech strategy identifies the unsustainable rate of consumption of the world's natural resources as one of 2 primary failings of the global food system. This proposal addresses the need to reduce the environmental impact of the production of nitrogen fertilisers, which are crucial to achieving the necessary increase in productivity of agricultural land. Current production is a large-scale industrial process, involving the production of H2 from natural gas, which is catalytically reacted with N2 derived from the air to form anhydrous ammonia. The project will develop a technology for decentralised synthesis of ammonia based fertilisers (urea) using H2 generated by electrolysis of water using renewable electricity. The unit will be on a scale which enables fertiliser production close to the point of use, further reducing emissions related to transport. The project will demonstrate a route to decarbonise the production and transport of ammonia-based fertilisers. The Foresight 'Future of Food and Farming' report estimates agriculture contribute 12-14% of GHG emissions, including those associated with fertiliser production. Agricultural production uses 4% of global fossil-fuel energy (560 GW/17.7 EJ) of which 50% is required for nitrogen fixation in fertiliser production. The widespread deployment of the technology has potential to dramatically reduce the GHG emissions of fertiliser production. The Foresight report also identifies the strong influence of fossil fuel prices on food prices, an important part of which is the impact fuel prices have on the cost of fertiliser production. By decoupling urea synthesis from fossil fuel consumption, the technology has potential to insulate the UK agricultural industry from an important source of future production cost increases and price volatility. The distributed farm-scale of the process promises the potential for UK farmers to reduce their production costs and to establish new revenue streams from the supply of urea, both locally and with potential export markets. The technology can help to keep down the costs of UK produce and also safeguard employment in the agriculture sector. Deployment of the urea-production process close to sources of renewable electricity generation offers a number of potential benefits to generators, including reduced grid connection costs, potential for reduced grid curtailment costs and improved price certainty. These savings translate into further potential revenue streams for the fertiliser plant operator. Deployment of the plant could also increase the capacity of renewable generation that can be connected, leading to further indirect environmental benefits.The project is business-led involving UK SMEs in technology and engineering sectors, while also drawing on the strengths of the UK academic community.