Green Ammonia

Green Ammonia

Subject: Environment

Context: Russia-Ukraine war has raised the prices of fertilisers, it is tempting to hope that the fertiliser sector could give a demand push to green ammonia.

What is Green Ammonia?

• Ammonia is a chemical which is used mainly in the manufacture of nitrogenous fertilizers, like urea and ammonium nitrate, but can be put to other uses too, such as to run engines.
• Green ammonia production is where the process of making ammonia is 100% renewable and carbon-free.
• One way of making green ammonia is by using hydrogen from water electrolysis and nitrogen separated from the air. These are then fed into theHaber process (also known as Haber-Bosch), all powered by sustainable electricity.
  • In the Haber process,hydrogen and nitrogen are reacted together at high temperatures and pressures to produce ammonia, NH3.

Need for Green Ammonia production:

• Decarbonising the food value chain : Green ammonia is intended to be used in the production ofcarbon-neutral fertiliser products.
• Rising gas price
  • The conventional route of producing ammonia, using the HaberBosch process, uses natural gas as feedstock. Global gas prices have been on the rise — they increased from $10.75/mmBtu (metric million British thermal unit) in January 2021 to $33 in January
• Growing demand
  • Long-term fertiliser demand in India is projected to grow to 130 million tonnes by 2050 from the current 55 million tonnes
• Reduce Food subsidy bill
• Green ammonia production makes use of renewable energy sources such as hydro-electric, solar power or wind turbines.

Challenges in Green Ammonia production:

• According to a recent report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), for green ammonia to come within reach, the cost of green hydrogen should fall, for which in turn, the costs of two other factors should decline — electrolysers and green electricity.