黑洞社区 is developing a new technology that may affordably produce fuel-grade ammonia using only air and water as ingredients.
The project has received an $855,000 federal grant from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)鈥檚 Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) 鈥� the first of its kind awarded to a Kansas institution as the lead.
Shuang Gu, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is the principal investigator of the project, "Alkaline Membrane-Based Ammonia Electrosynthesis with High Efficiency for Renewable and Scalable Fuel Production.鈥�
The research team also includes two collaborative researchers: Stuart Licht, professor of chemistry at George Washington University and Wenzhen Li, associate professor of chemistry at Iowa State University.
The team will demonstrate a method for creating ammonia from air using a hydroxide-exchange membrane (HEM) powered by renewable electricity. Current methods of generating ammonia are energy-intensive and suffer from inefficiencies that drive up costs.
鈥淥ur recent breakthroughs in electrochemical materials enable us to demonstrate a novel technology with a great potential and a logical pathway of efficiently producing ammonia as liquid fuels from renewable energy sources,鈥� said Gu.
REFUEL program
The project received this competitive ARPA-E award from the Renewable Energy to Fuels through Utilization of Energy-Dense Liquids (REFUEL) program, which seeks to develop scalable technologies for converting electrical energy from renewable resources, specifically energy-dense carbon-neutral liquid fuels that can be converted back into electricity or hydrogen on demand. The REFUEL program is providing $35 million to 16 projects.
In addition to this new award, Gu previously received two ARPA-E award as a collaborator on related areas of research, first at University of Delaware and also at Wichita State.
According to the NH3 Fuel Association, ammonia is a proven fuel source with a 75-year safety record that works efficiently in a range of engine types, including internal combustion engines, combustion turbines and direct ammonia fuel cells, creating zero carbon emissions. Its development could reduce reliance on foreign oil and lead to new technologies and jobs.
Currently, 95 percent of transportation fuel is derived from petroleum and burned in internal combustion engines. These energy-dense fuels are currently economical, but they remain partially reliant on imported petroleum and are highly carbon intensive.
鈥淒r. Gu鈥檚 contributions to the field are important to the security of the nation and reduction of gasses leading to global warming鈥� Janet Twomey, associate dean for research.