Green Ammonia Synthesis R&D Reactor

Green ammonia represents a promising part of the decarbonization puzzle as it can be used to transport green hydrogen produced via water electrolysis driven by wind or photovoltaic energy. This ammonia can then be much more easily transported by conventional means of low-pressure pipelines or shipping from hard to reach destinations to delivery points where it can then either be used as a valuable chemical feedstock for processes like ammonium nitrate fertilizer production or it can be cracked to produce Hydrogen for subsequent use or burnt as ammonia in ammonia engines.

Integrated Lab Solutions designed this flexible 2-reactor-in-series R&D testing unit for a client looking at studying the viability of converting green hydrogen to ammonia for transport from Brazil to Europe. The reactor-in-series configuration can be used for first removing oxygen, a well-known catalyst poison first and then ammonia synthesis in the 2nd reactor. Alternatively ammonia synthesis can be performed in both to mimic a multibed configuration with interstage cooling.

The unit is fully automated using the ILS Workflow Manager, which allows for complicated, multistep experimental recipes to be graphically created and then executed with the click of a mouse. The 24/7 operation includes seamless integration of an online GC, which provides continous informatin on the relevant catalytic and process data.