Development of integrated removal catalyst for energy fuel and nitrogen oxides... Demonstration planned

Development of integrated removal catalyst for energy fuel and nitrogen oxides... Demonstration planned

(Daejeon = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Jun-ho = The Korea Institute of Energy Research announced on the 1st that Dr. Seon-mi Hwang's research team in the Clean Air Research Laboratory has developed a catalyst technology that solves the emission problem of eco-friendly ammonia ships at once.

Ammonia emits less greenhouse gases than fossil fuels and is easy to transport and store, so it is attracting attention as a next-generation fuel for carbon neutrality in the shipping industry.

However, during the combustion process, greenhouse gases such as nitrogen oxides, nitrous oxide, and unburned ammonia, which have a global warming potential 300 times higher than carbon dioxide, are emitted, which can increase environmental pollution if not treated.

The research team developed a hybrid catalyst that can decompose nitrogen oxides and unburned ammonia at once. They also developed a catalyst that can decompose nitrous oxide and presented a solution that can treat all exhaust gases without adding new facilities.

Hybrid catalysts can reduce costs by at least 80% compared to precious metal-based catalysts. The research team explained that by simultaneously decomposing ammonia and nitrogen oxides in one catalyst layer with an efficiency of about 99%, catalyst usage can be reduced by up to half.

The nitrous oxide decomposition catalyst is also designed to operate at 350 degrees, the actual ship exhaust gas environment, by lowering the operating temperature by 100 degrees compared to commercial catalysts. Nitrous oxide can be decomposed with an efficiency of over 99% without a reducing agent, making it possible to simplify the system.

Both catalysts developed by the research team can be used in exhaust gas decomposition equipment used in existing diesel ships, so they can be commercialized immediately.

Dr. Seon-mi Hwang said, "This catalyst technology is a groundbreaking achievement in simultaneously reducing multiple pollutants, which has been the biggest challenge in ammonia ships. As it is a technology that accurately responds to field needs such as reducing the installation space of equipment, lightening the system, and improving maintenance efficiency, we will improve the completeness of the technology through future pilot demonstrations."