Wastewater-sourced urea for hydrogen energy-targeted ammonia production

Abstract:

The dependence of the global economy on fossil fuels sets a series of energy and environmental concerns for our present and future development. In spite of all the efforts for reducing our consumption of fossil fuels, our needs for hydrocarbons are only expected to increase. Therefore, decisions to promote a shift towards renewable and more environmental-friendly sources of energy need to be made. Hydrogen has been considered as a suitable candidate for replacing fossil fuels in the future. Nonetheless, the success of a future hydrogen economy depends on today's efforts for providing cheaper and renewable sources of energy. The present project focuses in providing a general overview of the available requirements, technologies, opportunities and limitations, associated to the use of urine as a potential energy vector for supporting renewable urea and hydrogen production. The potential use of urine as an energy resource was analyzed on the basis of the available information found in previous research. Moreover, urine's requirements for energy applications, as well as the available pre-treatment and treatment processes to support such purpose, were discussed. Compatible urine-treatment technologies were combined to propose alternatives for sourcing urea from urine. Finally, the integration of urine-treatment processes with hydrogen production technologies was covered. Current collection systems for urine, urine's variability and occurring urea hydrolysis, represent the major barriers associated with urea recovery from urine. Nonetheless, such limitations can be overcome when urine separate collection systems and urine storage are …

Año de publicación:

2015

Keywords:

Fuente:

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