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Ammonia (NH3) is a superior alternative for storing and transporting hydrogen. Ammonia can be liquified at room temperature and only 10 bar pressure. It is less flammable than hydrogen and the infrastructure is already in place. To utilize the hydrogen, it must be released through cracking of the ammonia.
Ammonia cracking splits ammonia (NH3) into hydrogen (H2) and nitrogen (N2) and is the reversed reaction to the Haber-Bosch process where ammonia is synthesized. The reaction is endothermic and requires considerable addition and transfer of heat.
For ammonia cracking, Catator offers a range of catalysts that are suitable for high to low operating temperatures. For low-temperature operation, our ruthenium based CataLite® Ru type of catalysts offers exceptional performance. However, if the unit is expected to operate at higher temperatures, CataLite® Ni or CataLite® Fe formulations might be a suitable alternative due to cost and safety reasons. The CataLite® technology is applied as a thin (20-100μm) coating, strongly fixated onto a metal substrate, making the active catalyst material highly accessible for the chemical reaction.
Catator’s proprietary CataRex® technology couples the endothermic ammonia cracking with active and/or passive heating via heat exchange technology, which enables the design of very compact and efficient reactors. Over the years, Catator has developed the CataRex® concept to include plate as well as tubular type of catalytic heat exchangers for a range of different reactions including ammonia cracking.
Catator has developed reactors and catalysts for ammonia cracking together with some of the world leading companies in the field for well over a decade. Our CataRex® technology can be used for complete cracking of ammonia to deliver pure hydrogen to fuel cell applications or be designed for partial cracking to produce ammonia and hydrogen fuel blends with properties suitable for combustion . At Catator we customize our off-the-shelf technologies to match the specific requirements of your application.
Please find more information on ammonia cracking catalyst and reactor selection below:
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