Ammonia manufacturing apparatus and ammonia manufacturing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2021340017-A1
Application number	US-202017276479-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	May 1, 2020
Priority date	May 1, 2020
Publication date	Nov 4, 2021
Grant date	—

Abstract

Included are: a raw material component storage unit that stores the raw material component supplied to the ammonia synthesis unit; a high-pressure raw material component storage unit that stores the raw material component at a pressure higher than a pressure at which the raw material component is stored in the raw material component storage unit; and a surplus electric power processing unit including a high-pressure raw material component transfer unit that boosts and transfers the raw material component from the raw material component storage unit to the high-pressure raw material component storage unit, and an expander that converts pressure energy of the raw material component supplied from the high-pressure raw material component storage unit into motive power to generate power.

First claim

1 . An ammonia manufacturing apparatus comprising:
a hydrogen generation unit that generates hydrogen by electrolysis of water; an ammonia synthesis unit that synthesizes ammonia by a reaction between hydrogen and nitrogen using hydrogen generated in the hydrogen generation unit; and a nitrogen supply unit that supplies nitrogen to the ammonia synthesis unit, and further comprising: for at least one raw material component selected from hydrogen generated in the hydrogen generation unit and nitrogen supplied from the nitrogen supply unit, a raw material component storage unit that stores the raw material component supplied to the ammonia synthesis unit; a high-pressure raw material component storage unit that stores the raw material component at a pressure higher than a pressure at which the raw material component is stored in the raw material component storage unit; and a surplus electric power processing unit including: a high-pressure raw material component transfer unit that boosts and transfers the raw material component from the raw material component storage unit to the high-pressure raw material component storage unit; and an expander that converts pressure energy of the raw material component supplied from the high-pressure raw material component storage unit into motive power to generate power, wherein a first power source using renewable energy is used as a power source for the electrolysis in the hydrogen generation unit, and at least one selected from the group consisting of surplus electric power of the first power source and surplus electric power of a second power source different from the first power source is used as a motive power source for the high-pressure raw material component transfer unit.

2 . The ammonia manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the motive power source for the high-pressure raw material component transfer unit is surplus electric power of the first power source.

3 . The ammonia manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the nitrogen supply unit includes a liquid nitrogen manufacturing unit that manufactures liquid nitrogen from air, and the surplus electric power processing unit stores liquid nitrogen supplied from the liquid nitrogen manufacturing unit as the raw material component in the high-pressure raw material component storage unit by the high-pressure raw material component transfer unit, vaporizes liquid nitrogen supplied from the high-pressure raw material component storage unit by a vaporizer, and supplies nitrogen gas to the expander to generate power.

4 . The ammonia manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein as at least one selected from the group consisting of the first power source and the second power source, variable renewable energy selected from solar power generation, wind power generation, solar thermal power generation, and ocean power generation is used.

5 . The ammonia manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a power generation facility serving as the first power source.

6 . The ammonia manufacturing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein rated power generation output of the power generation facility is larger than electric power consumption of the electrolysis in the hydrogen generation unit.

7 . The ammonia manufacturing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein first electric power consumption, which is a part of electric power consumption of the electrolysis in the hydrogen generation unit, is derived from a power source other than the first power source, second electric power consumption, which is a balance of the electric power consumption of the electrolysis in the hydrogen generation unit, is derived from the first power source, and rated power generation output of the power generation facility is larger than the second electric power consumption.

8 . The ammonia manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein electric power generated by the expander is supplied to any one of the hydrogen generation unit, the nitrogen supply unit, the ammonia synthesis unit, and the surplus electric power processing unit.

9 . An ammonia manufacturing method comprising:
a hydrogen generation step of generating hydrogen by electrolysis of water; an ammonia synthesis step of synthesizing ammonia by a reaction between hydrogen and nitrogen using hydrogen generated in the hydrogen generation step; and a nitrogen supply step of supplying nitrogen to the ammonia synthesis step, and further comprising: for at least one raw material component selected from hydrogen generated in the hydrogen generation step and nitrogen supplied from the nitrogen supply step, using a raw material component storage unit that stores the raw material component supplied to the ammonia synthesis step; a high-pressure raw material component storage unit that stores the raw material component at a pressure higher than a pressure at which the raw material component is stored in the raw material component storage unit; and a surplus electric power processing unit including: a high-pressure raw material component transfer unit that boosts and transfers the raw material component from the raw material component storage unit to the high-pressure raw material component storage unit; and an expander that converts pressure energy of the raw material component supplied from the high-pressure raw material component storage unit into motive power to generate power; and using a first power source using renewable energy as a power source for the electrolysis in the hydrogen generation step and using at least one selected from the group consisting of surplus electric power of the first power source and surplus electric power of a second power source different from the first power source as a motive power source for the high-pressure raw material component transfer unit.

10 . The ammonia manufacturing method according to claim 9 , wherein the motive power source for the high-pressure raw material component transfer unit is the surplus electric power of the first power source.

11 . The ammonia manufacturing method according to claim 9 , wherein at least a part of the raw material component after the pressure energy of the raw material component is converted into motive power by the expander is supplied to the ammonia synthesis step.

12 . The ammonia manufacturing method according to claim 9 , wherein at least a part of the raw material component after the pressure energy of the raw material component is converted into motive power by the expander is stored in the raw material component storage unit.

13 . The ammonia manufacturing method according to claim 9 , wherein electric power generated by the expander is consumed by any one of the hydrogen generation step, the nitrogen supply step, the ammonia synthesis step, and the surplus electric power processing unit.

Assignees

• Jgc Corp

Inventors

• Fujimoto Sho
• Fujimura Yasushi
• Kai Mototaka
• Hoshino Yuki

Classifications

• Y02E60/32

  Hydrogen storage · CPC title

• C25B15/081

  Supplying products to non-electrochemical reactors that are combined with the electrochemical cell, e.g. Sabatier reactor · CPC title

• Y02P20/133

  Renewable energy sources, e.g. sunlight · CPC title

• Y02P20/129

  Energy recovery, e.g. by cogeneration, H2recovery or pressure recovery turbines · CPC title

• F17C2221/012

  Hydrogen · CPC title