Ammonia Production: Energy Efficiency, CO2 Balances and Environmental Impact

Keywords: ammonia production, energy efficiency, CO₂ emission

Consideration of bioenergy and food production in the context of carbon footprints, greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact often starts with an estimation of the effects of the nitrogen fertilisers used. The primary source of these is ammonia and this paper describes the processes involved in its production, and quantifies the energy used and associated carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission. The paper also describes methodologies for calculating energy efficiency and compares the calculation of efficiency to the calculation of CO₂ emissions for an ammonia plant.

J D Pach, Terra Nitrogen (UK) Ltd, Severnside Works, Bristol, UK.

27 pages, 11 tables, 1 figure, 21 references.