Abstract

Fossil fuels such as petrol, diesel, coal and natural gas are used as energy source in the production of domestic, commercial and industrial products such as hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, ammonia, urea and clean water. There are environmental degradation problems associated with the burning of these fuels due to combustion process associated. It is evaluated whether it is possible to utilize an alternative renewable energy source and process that can be used in the production of these industrial products. In this paper, an alternative energy fuel and processes are devised for the production of oxygen, hydrogen (2H₂O→2H₂+O₂), nitrogen, ammonia (N₂+3H₂→2NH₃) and urea (NH₃+CO₂→(NH₂)2CO+H₂O) and clean water using water electrolysis, air separation, ammonia, urea synthesis and oxy fuel combustion process. The amounts of these products that can be produced are calculated on basis of energy and mass of ingredient products required at all stages in these processes. The results reveal that solar energy powered alternative production processes can be utilized in the production of nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, ammonia, urea and clean water in an environmentally sustainable manner. It is calculated that for 56.6×10³ kg of ammonia, 0.77×10³ kg of carbon dioxide would be required to produce 1.06 ×10³ kg of urea and 0.31 m³ water.

Keywords: Solar electrical energy; Urea synthesis production; Environmental sustainability