The project “Development of an integrated system of ammonia partially cracking and gas turbine combustion with cascade waste heat utilization” is funded by Singapore National Research Foundation under its The Low-Carbon Energy Research (LCER) Programme.

This project will study ammonia cracking technology and gas turbine (GT) combustion, as well as their integration, with the aim of achieving scalable advancements in decarbonizing power generation. The specific objectives include: (a) Developing scalable cracking technologies to partially decompose ammonia; (b) Enhancing flame stability of partially cracked ammonia; (c) Reducing NOx emissions from ammonia combustion; and (d) Integrating and scaling up the combustion and cracking system using efficient waste heat recovery. The research approaches include: (a) Multi-scale catalysis modeling of ammonia cracking; (b) Combustion simulations of both laboratory-scale and industrial burners; (c) Employing flame laser diagnostics and measurement methods to GT flames under atmospheric and elevated pressures, as well as developing laboratory-scale integrated system of ammonia cracking and combustion; and (d) Conducting energy efficiency analysis, thermodynamic assessments, and techno-economic and environmental evaluations for combined-cycle GTs with online ammonia cracking in power plant.

The novelty of this project lies in the seamless integration of ammonia cracking technology with gas turbines, with an exploration of techniques for reducing NOx emissions and maximizing waste heat recovery. The proposed technology holds significant promise for Singapore’s CO2 reduction objectives and its position of international leadership in green fuels transport and the emerging hydrogen economy. We work closely with industrial partners, including gas turbine OEM and power plant operators.  Furthermore, three overseas research teams of ammonia combustion are invited as the international collaborators, namely, Cardiff University (UK), Tohoku University (Japan), and KAUST (Saudi Arabia). The project duration will be three years, lead to the potential to carry out further pilot scale GT development in Singapore to scale up the technologies to higher TRL.