Catalytic ammonia decomposition to produce hydrogen: A mini-review

Abstract

Hydrogen (H2) is considered one of the most promising alternative energy resources instead of fossil fuels, serving as a clean energy carrier. Ammonia (NH3) is regarded as a high percentage hydrogen carrier and utilized as an initial material for H2 production. As for the H2 production through NH3 decomposition, there are various catalytic processes particularly using Ru- and Pd-based catalysts. The Ru- and Ni-based NH3 decomposition catalysts have been studied due to synergetic effect of active metal phase in stabilizing unstable nitrogen intermediate species during NH3 decomposition reaction. The Pd catalyst-based membrane reactors were developed to enhance H2 separation from the product stream of NH3 decomposition. Integrated systems combining Ru catalyst and Pd-based membrane were also explored to achieve a high yield of H2 from NH3. This review summarizes recent literatures on catalytic NH3 decomposition to produce H2. It probably provides useful insights into designing large-scale H2 production processes.