JERA, IHI Launch Testing of Gas Ammonia at Coal Energy Plant

Japanese corporations JERA and IHI Corp. have launched the world’s first large-volume gas ammonia demonstration testing at JERA’s 1-GW Unit 4 of its 4.1-GW Hekinan Thermal Energy Station in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

The demonstration testing, which kicked off on April 1 and is slated to proceed by means of June 2024, includes substituting 20% of Hekinan 4’s heating worth with gas ammonia. The mission is an integral a part of a four-year effort that started in July 2021, backed by Japan’s New Vitality and Industrial Know-how Improvement Group (NEDO) to determine ammonia co-firing at a large-scale industrial coal energy plant.

The demonstration testing seeks to judge “each boiler warmth absorption and environmental affect traits equivalent to exhaust gases,” JERA mentioned. Particularly, it can have a look at “traits of the plant general, investigating nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emissions and confirming components equivalent to operability and the affect on boilers and ancillary tools,” JERA mentioned.

1. JERA’s Hekinan Thermal Energy Plant in Hekinan Metropolis, Aichi Prefecture, is one in all Japan’s largest coal-fired energy crops. The plant’s Unit 4 in 2024 kicked off demonstration testing geared toward establishing know-how to transform 20% of its gas from coal to ammonia. Courtesy: JERA

If the demonstration testing is profitable, JERA—a three way partnership between Tokyo Electrical Energy Co. (TEPCO) and Chubu Electrical—plans to commercially function Hekinan 4 (Determine 1) with ammonia substituting 20% of its heating worth. IHI, in the meantime, plans to use its learnings from the testing demonstration to determine a know-how for high-ratio combustion of fifty% ammonia or extra at thermal crops, in addition to additional its growth of burners for 100% ammonia combustion. These developments might be deployed at “different thermal energy crops in Japan and abroad,” it mentioned.

Advancing Decarbonization in Nations That Want Thermal Energy

The NEDO mission is particularly vital as a result of “it could provide a low-cost first step to shortly advance the decarbonization in international locations like Japan that want thermal energy era as an adjustable energy supply to make sure a secure provide of vitality,” JERA and IHI famous.

Based on the businesses, ammonia is an particularly promising gas for coal substitution, on condition that it emits no greenhouse gases when burned (the combustion response system of ammonia is 4NH₃ + 3O₂ → 2N₂ + 6H₂O). Whereas hydrogen provides comparable advantages, it has a low transport effectivity owing to its low combustion calorific worth per unit quantity, and since hydrogen has a low density, it requires a lot vitality for liquefaction. Ammonia could be liquefied at –33.4C, and it’s already broadly commercially obtainable for makes use of equivalent to fertilizer manufacturing, with infrastructure constructed out to help its manufacturing, storage, transportation, and dealing with.

“Moreover, since ammonia and coal have comparable combustion speeds, they burn properly collectively, so changing coal with ammonia can cut back CO₂ emissions whereas sustaining the identical quantity of energy era,” JERA famous in April. As well as, “since this initiative could be carried out whereas utilizing present tools, it may be carried out shortly and at low price. The ratio of gas ammonia will then be elevated step-by-step, with the final word purpose of producing electrical energy utilizing solely ammonia.”

The 2 corporations underscore that ammonia firing is a important pathway to decarbonize Japan’s coal fleet as a part of the nation’s purpose to turn into carbon-neutral by 2050. JERA, notably, can also be focusing on attaining zero-carbon emissions throughout its thermal heavy operations by 2050. The corporate’s plans rely closely on ammonia and hydrogen demonstrations. It has beforehand mentioned that it plans to conduct large-scale demonstration checks to extend its ammonia co-firing ratio for coal era to greater than 50% by fiscal yr 2028 and goals for industrial operation at a excessive ratio of over 50% within the first half of the 2030s. JERA is in tandem exploring testing hydrogen combustion at 30% (by quantity) at a fuel turbine liquefied pure fuel (LNG) plant by 2025. These efforts “go hand in hand with elevated funding in renewable vitality sources like offshore wind energy,” it says.

Constructing Out an Ammonia Worth Chain

Whereas the demonstration testing is ongoing—promising to agency its technical viability—JERA suggests a extra pivotal problem shall be to make sure an enormous provide of gas ammonia to feasibly exchange coal at its thermal crops. If 20% co-firing have been to be maintained all year long, Hekinan would wish an annual quantity of about 500,000 tons of ammonia, it notes.

“To place that in perspective, Japan presently imports round 200,000 tons of ammonia yearly. Because of this the demand from a single energy plant can be greater than double the whole imports of the whole nation. As we improve the ratio of ammonia to be burned and prolong this method to different coal-fired energy crops, the procurement quantity will solely develop over time,” it says.

JERA has sought to fill this hole by investing in useful resource growth additional upstream and constructing partnerships with ammonia producers, transportation corporations, and receiving and storage corporations. The event and demonstration of ammonia-fired energy era services kind a key a part of this “worth chain,” it says.

For IHI Group, which is creating a comparable however separate worth chain, guaranteeing ammonia could be co-fired—and ultimately single-fired—is a crucial step. “Ammonia has a decrease burning price and flame temperature than different standard fuels, equivalent to methane,” the corporate defined. “Additionally, there’s a want to cut back the quantity of [NO_x ] generated by the nitrogen elements within the gas. Dependable ignition and secure combustion are necessary, however the combustion situations for attaining them have a trade-off relationship with low NO_x emissions. In combustion know-how growth, it is very important strike a very good steadiness between the 2.”

The Lengthy Street to Demonstration

In 2018, backed by the Japanese authorities, IHI got down to pin down optimum ammonia injection and mixing strategies for pulverized coal burner flames. It discovered that NO_x could be successfully diminished by feeding ammonia right into a “extremely lowering environment with a excessive fuel temperature (direct furnace injection).” Primarily based on that research, with NEDO’s help, the corporate created prototype burners for combustion testing and performed fundamental checks at 1 MWth and 10 MWth check furnaces.

“The outcomes of those checks present that secure combustion was achieved when the ammonia mixing ratio was 20% when it comes to the combustion calorific worth. As well as, the NO_x emissions and unburned content material have been on the similar ranges as these in pulverized coal single firing,” it mentioned. Additional evaluations additionally urged that for 20% ammonia co-firing, “there’s principally no want to switch the warmth switch part, together with the pressure-containing components of the boiler, air flow system, or environmental services. Nonetheless, modification could also be required relying on the ability design situations, facility situations, and coal properties.”

The breakthrough led to the four-year NEDO-sponsored research, “Improvement of Applied sciences for Carbon Recycling and Subsequent-Technology Thermal Energy Technology / Analysis, Improvement, and Demonstration of Applied sciences for Ammonia Co-Firing Thermal Energy Technology,” which kicked off in July 2021 and can wrap up in March 2025.

Making certain Security at a First-of-a-Form Facility

JERA and IHI have taken concerted steps to implement the mission. In October 2021, the businesses kicked off small-volume ammonia utilization at Hekinan 5, intent on creating a co-firing burner that might be utilized on the bigger Hekinan 4 demonstration. That mission equipped about 200 tons of ammonia to 2 of Hekinan 5’s burners, permitting the businesses to look at the results of various burner supplies and combustion instances and establish the required situations for co-firing burners. Since October 2022, work has been transferring ahead on constructing the burners, tanks, vaporizers, piping, and different services essential for demonstration testing at Hekinan 4 (Determine 2).

The work to help an sufficient ammonia provide, which requires separate services for receiving ammonia, its storage, a vaporizer, and pretreatment, is essential. To be used at Hekinan, the gas ammonia—“grey” ammonia—is cooled to about –33C, transported to the plant in a liquefied state on a particular ship, after which saved in particular tanks. One other vital facet of the mission has centered on security. Ammonia should be dealt with rigorously, on condition that it’s a hazardous substance. Whereas generally used at energy crops for de-nitration tools, it’s usually dealt with by certified personnel in accordance with standardized dealing with procedures. JERA mentioned it “ready security measures and an operational framework for using gas ammonia on the energy station.”

The security measures embody three tiers: prevention, early detection and remedy, and prevention of growth, it mentioned. To stop ammonia from leaking, JERA mentioned it can implement “sturdy security designs to forestall tools harm from earthquakes, storm surges, tsunamis, and floods, in addition to totally implement preventive measures in case of kit failure or incorrect operation.” As well as, it has carried out “mechanisms for early detection of kit abnormalities and coaching manuals to forestall harm from spreading.” These embody day by day and periodic inspections, and intensive operator coaching.

As a result of ammonia has the property of being extremely soluble in water, one other protection mechanism includes sprinkling water to soak up ammonia fuel and forestall it from spreading. Its gas ammonia tanks are “put in inside a dike that acts as a fence to forestall liquid from leaking, so water that has absorbed ammonia stays inside the dike and is shortly recovered,” JERA famous. The corporate, nonetheless, has additionally arrange coordination with native authorities on emergency measures within the “unlikely occasion of a leak,” it mentioned.

—Sonal Patel is a POWER senior editor (@sonalcpatel, @POWERmagazine).