What’s Ammonia?
To create a sustainable future We are Ammonia Total Solution Provider.
Using original technologies, we build and provide small-scale ammonia production systems to resolve issues faced by humans in relation to food and the environment, as we strive to achieve a sustainable society. Here, we introduce ammonia (NH3), which is expected to contribute to a carbon-free society.
Ammonia / NH3
Ammonia is generated in the natural world by animal excrement and decaying plants, and is also generated by reactions of nitrogen and hydrogen in the atmosphere. Ammonia can also be produced industrially in high volumes based on the Haber–Bosch process, by bringing about reactions with nitrogen and hydrogen gas under high temperature, high pressure conditions.
Because ammonia dissolves easily in water, applications as an aqueous solution are common. It is also used as a basic material in fertilizers and chemical products, and is considered an important fundamental source of nitrogen in the chemical industry. Approximately 200 million tons* of ammonia is produced worldwide each year, representing the largest volume of production for any single chemical product.
Conventional ammonia applications
Ammonia is used in a variety of applications throughout the world. Fertilizer applications account for 80%, and as the global population grows, ammonia has become increasingly important in the production of fertilizer for agricultural products. Industrial applications account for the remaining 20%, where ammonia is used as a basic material in the production of chemical products, amino acids, chemical fibers, and semiconductors, as well as in denitrification processes at thermal power plants.
These ammonia applications play an extremely important role in agriculture, industry, and everyday life, and ammonia has been produced at chemical plants throughout the world to support our modern lifestyles.
Ammonia as a next-generation source of energy
Japan has declared that it aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and as we move toward a carbon-free society, ammonia is a fuel that will play as important a role as hydrogen in decarbonization, and has gained attention as a next-generation energy source. There are three main reasons for this attention.
-
A general-purpose
low carbon fuelAlthough ammonia is flammable, it does not give off CO₂ when it burns, so it is expected to see a wide range of applications as a fuel.
In addition to being a non- CO₂ emitting power generation method as an alternative to thermal power generation, ammonia can be used in production plants and other industrial fields, as well as in the transportation field. -
No need for new investments
in transportBecause ammonia has been manufactured in large volumes up to now for fertilizer and other applications, it is possible to use the facilities that have been used in the past.
Existing chemical tankers can be used for transport, so there is no need for additional development of specialized containers. -
As a hydrogen carrier
Hydrogen has gained as much attention as ammonia as a next-generation energy source, but one issue is that hydrogen is difficult to handle because it vaporizes easily. Ammonia is expected to serve as an efficient carrier for transporting hydrogen, as hydrogen can be forced to react with nitrogen and converted into ammonia, which is easily transported and stored, and can later be recovered when it is needed.
Conventional applications
- Agricultural fertilizer
- Amino acids
- Chemical fibers
- NOx detoxification in thermal power generation
- Nitride film in semiconductors
- Raw material for various other chemical products
New applications
CO₂ Free
Ammonia
Ammonia produced using this method is referred to as gray ammonia, but given the issues surrounding gray ammonia, efforts are currently being made in various countries to develop blue ammonia and green ammonia technologies that do not generate CO₂ during the production process.
