Making ammonia from renewable wind
energy at a competitive price
may be possible if the conventional ammonia condenser is replaced
with an ammonia absorber. Such a process change requires an ammonia
selective absorbent. Supported metal halide sorbents for this separation
display outstanding dynamic capacity close to their equilibrium thermodynamic
limits. Alkaline earth chlorides and bromides supported on silica
and zeolite Y are the most promising. MgCl2 and CaBr2 at 40% loading on silica show capacities of 60−70
mgNH3/gsorbent at 150 °C and 4 bar. Overall,
cations with smaller atomic numbers show more affinity to ammonia;
bromides hold ammonia more strongly than chlorides. Different solvents
and metal halide mixtures do not show significant changes in the absorption
capacity. These absorbents can be incorporated into ammonia reaction-absorption
syntheses to achieve faster production rates.
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