I've had too much chemistry, high school and college, to be impressed. Source: Chemists discover new way to harness energy from ammonia A research team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has identified a new way to convert ammonia to nitrogen gas through a process that could be a step toward ammonia replacing carbon-based fuels. . . . I've been and remain an advocate for anhydrous ammonia as a fuel source. Buy this article suggests an optimism not on my list. Bob Wilson
What becomes of the hydrogen? Is it getting consumed by the catalyst? Yeah, no real details to get excited about. It might turn into something that makes hydrogen fuels viable. Small enough, you can have onboard reformation of ammonia for cars.
Whenever they say they're going to use water, my eyes glaze over, and I remember the billboard sign that says we are in a severe drought, at least here in Southern California.... REVVL V+ 5G ?
Right, I know NH3. But I like conserving water more than fossil fuels, because I can ultimately buy a Tesla, ID.4, Polestar, Leaf, Bolt, etc to get around, but no good answer to producing more H2O. (There are desalination plants around the beaches that I've seen, don't honestly know much about them I confess)... REVVL V+ 5G ?
The main use of ammonia is fertilizer. We need it to feed people. It's possible to get the required hydrogen from a biomass, but the more complex the compounds, the higher the cost of doing so. That's why natural gas is used over coal now. Then even using fossil fuels for hydrogen uses water; the process is steam reformation, and some of the hydrogen came from the water. Any fossil fuel use will lead to carbon emissions.
Yes, ammonia is an excellent fertilizer, nitrogen fixation specifically, (although I forgot what that's about). As a Bio major one class taught me the "rule of 3s". (Let's ignore for a moment how long Tom Cruise held his breath for one of the Mission Impossible movies.) The human body can survive: 3 minutes without oxygen 3 days without water 3 weeks without food Even my 86 year old mother has some strange fixation on the importance of eating food. Her BUN is abnormal, (my wife says it is a sign of not drinking enough water), but she still gets mad at me whenever I try to ask her to drink more water. (She is a retired pediatrician). From the rule of 3s water is a lot more important to me than food... REVVL V+ 5G ?
