Technoeconomic and Geospatial Analysis of Biogas Utilization for Enhancing Ammonia Production Competitiveness of the United States

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🔬研究者:Provides a comprehensive techno-economic and geospatial framework for comparing ammonia production technologies, extensible to other chemical processes.

🏢実務担当者:Offers actionable cost benchmarks and technology selection guidance for companies considering biogas-based ammonia production or retrofitting existing plants.

🏛政策担当者:Highlights the role of waste-derived feedstocks in enhancing energy security and reducing emissions, informing state-level industrial and climate policies.

The US ammonia industry faces vulnerabilities, including volatility in the prices of natural gas – the primary feedstock for ammonia – and geopolitical risks, given that the US is a net importer of ammonia. This paper presents detailed studies on the prospect of partially offsetting these risks by boosting local ammonia production from waste-derived biogas, such as landfill gas and agricultural waste. Rigorous process design in Aspen Plus and technoeconomic evaluation were used to contrast emerging technologies (autothermal reforming, catalytic partial oxidation, methane pyrolysis, chemical looping) with the conventional technology, steam methane reforming (SMR), for hydrogen generation to produce biogas-derived ammonia. The results show that the energy efficiency of producing ammonia from biogas feed ranges from 33.6 to 67.7% on a methane basis, encompassing the reported value for natural gas feed (57%), demonstrating a pathway to standalone and retrofit drop-in solutions. Production costs varied considerably across technological pathways, with common drivers such as feedstock costs and capital investment accounting for 40%+ and 22%+, respectively. Biogas-based SMR shows the lowest minimum ammonia selling price (MASP) of $510 t⋅NH 3 -1 , followed by chemical looping reforming ($568 t⋅NH 3 -1 ). Methane pyrolysis showcases the highest energy efficiency of 60.7% (biogas basis) by combusting carbon black byproduct to meet thermal energy demand, followed by SMR (59.4%). Further, we show through geospatial sensitivity studies that economies of scale are the major driver for state-level differences in MASP, with electricity cost also playing a significant role in states with high electricity prices, such as California. The state of Texas shows the lowest MASP for four out of five technology options. This work has practical relevance to stakeholders looking to develop new ammonia facilities in the US or retrofit existing ones. Our technology evaluations are also relevant to other ammonia projects worldwide. This study outlines a comprehensive methodology for comparative technology evaluation, including energy efficiency and economic analyses, that is extensible to other processes for manufacturing commodity chemicals or fuels.

• openalex https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv.15004730/v1first seen 2026-07-04 04:40:51