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Development of Ammonia Combustion Technology for NOx Reduction

Author

Listed:
  • Hossein Ali Yousefi Rizi

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Kookmin University, Seoul 136-702, Republic of Korea)

  • Donghoon Shin

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Kookmin University, Seoul 136-702, Republic of Korea)

Abstract

This study comprehensively reviewed the engineering theories and technologies required for using ammonia as a fuel. The slow reaction rate and high NOx emissions of ammonia remain challenging issues with existing combustion technologies. Accordingly, the causes of these problems with ammonia were analyzed and the results of research aimed at solving these issues and commercializing ammonia combustion were examined to explore future directions for the development of ammonia combustion technology. The equivalence ratio (ER) emerged as the most important factor, closely related to operational stability and NOx emissions. Various combustion technologies, such as staged combustion and flameless combustion, have been attempted, but NOx emissions remain high at overall ER < 1, necessitating post-treatment processes. The internal recirculation of combustion gases is a key technology that enhances the stability of ammonia combustion, and its extreme case, flameless combustion technology, is predicted to form stable ammonia combustion. This is related to supplying the radicals that are lacking in the pure ammonia combustion process through the recirculation of combustion gases. By utilizing this, if the stability of ammonia combustion is secured and staged ER control technology is established, it is believed that the commercialization of pure ammonia combustion technology will be possible in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Hossein Ali Yousefi Rizi & Donghoon Shin, 2025. "Development of Ammonia Combustion Technology for NOx Reduction," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-30, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:5:p:1248-:d:1604837
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hossein Ali Yousefi Rizi & Donghoon Shin, 2022. "Green Hydrogen Production Technologies from Ammonia Cracking," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-49, November.
    2. Xing, Fei & Kumar, Arvind & Huang, Yue & Chan, Shining & Ruan, Can & Gu, Sai & Fan, Xiaolei, 2017. "Flameless combustion with liquid fuel: A review focusing on fundamentals and gas turbine application," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 28-51.
    3. Sorrentino, Giancarlo & Sabia, Pino & Bozza, Pio & Ragucci, Raffaele & de Joannon, Mara, 2019. "Low-NOx conversion of pure ammonia in a cyclonic burner under locally diluted and preheated conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    4. Weber, Roman & Gupta, Ashwani K. & Mochida, Susumu, 2020. "High temperature air combustion (HiTAC): How it all started for applications in industrial furnaces and future prospects," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    5. Ruiqi Zhu & Donghoon Shin, 2023. "Study on Flow and Heat Transfer Characteristics of 25 kW Flameless Combustion in a Cylindrical Heat Exchanger for a Reforming Processor," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-20, October.
    6. Li, Jun & Huang, Hongyu & Kobayashi, Noriyuki & Wang, Chenguang & Yuan, Haoran, 2017. "Numerical study on laminar burning velocity and ignition delay time of ammonia flame with hydrogen addition," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 796-809.
    7. Andersson, Jim & Lundgren, Joakim, 2014. "Techno-economic analysis of ammonia production via integrated biomass gasification," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 484-490.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bo Zhang & Xinkang Hu & Congyang Zhang & Xiaohong Xu & Chundu Wu, 2025. "Synergistic Purification of Flue Gas from Straw Combustion Using Ammonia Method and Electrostatic Charged Spray," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-14, May.

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