Michalsky, RonaldParman, Bryon J.Amanor-Boadu, VincentPfromm, Peter H.2013-09-302013-09-302012-06-01http://hdl.handle.net/2097/16540Ammonia is an important input into agriculture and is used widely as base chemical for the chemical industry. It has recently been proposed as a sustainable transportation fuel and convenient one-way hydrogen carrier. Employing typical meteorological data for Palmdale, CA, solar energy is considered here as an inexpensive and renewable energy alternative in the synthesis of NH[subscript 3] at ambient pressure and without natural gas. Thermodynamic process analysis shows that a molybdenum-based solar thermochemical NH[subscript 3] production cycle, conducted at or below 1500 K, combined with solar thermochemical H[subscript 2] production from water may operate at a net-efficiency ranging from 23 to 30% (lower heating value of NH[subscript 3] relative to the total energy input). Net present value optimization indicates ecologically and economically sustainable NH[subscript 3] synthesis at above about 160 tons NH[subscript 3] per day, dependent primarily on heliostat costs (varied between 90 and 164 dollars/m²), NH[subscript 3] yields (ranging from 13.9 mol% to stoichiometric conversion of fixed and reduced nitrogen to NH[subscript 3]), and the NH[subscript 3] sales price. Economically feasible production at an optimum plant capacity near 900 tons NH[subscript 3] per day is shown at relative conservative technical assumptions and at a reasonable NH[subscript 3] sales price of about 534 ± 28 dollars per ton NH[subscript 3].en-USThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).HydrogenMethaneFertilizerSolarElectricityEconomicsInfrastructureArticle (author version)