A novel approach to ammonia synthesis from hydrogen sulfide

There are a number of shortcomings for currently-available technologies for ammonia production, such as carbon dioxide emissions and water consumption. We simulate a novel model for ammonia production from hydrogen sulfide through membrane technologies. The proposed production process decreases the need for external water and reduces the physical footprint of the plant. The required hydrogen comes from the separation of hydrogen sulfide by electrochemical membrane separation, while the required nitrogen is obtained from separating oxygen from air through an ion transport membrane. 10% of the hydrogen from the electrochemical membrane separation along with the separated oxygen from the ion transport membrane is sent to the solid oxide fuel cell for heat and power generation. This production process operates with a minimal number of processing units and in physical, kinetic, and thermal conditions in which a separation factor of similar to 99.99% can be attained. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC.

Automated summary

The study introduces a novel model for producing ammonia from hydrogen sulfide through membrane technologies, reducing water consumption and the physical footprint of the plant. Hydrogen is obtained from electrochemical membrane separation and nitrogen from ion transport membrane separation, with some used for solid oxide fuel cells. The production process achieves a high separation efficiency in minimal processing units.