Blue Ammonia
Exploring the Transition from Conventional Ammonia to Low-Carbon Solutions with LSB Clean Energy
What is blue ammonia?
As we look toward the transition from our conventional ammonia production processes, which emit a significant amount of CO2, to a truly green or no-carbon process, it’s important to understand that this will happen over a period of many years, perhaps even decades. Most ammonia produced today is made via steam-methane reforming, a process in which high-temperature steam is used to produce hydrogen from natural gas. This process emits a significant amount of CO2 and is often referred to as gray hydrogen. To move from this process to a completely green process involves many factors, not the least of which is project economics.
During this transition period, the production of low-carbon – or blue – ammonia will be critical to lowering emissions. Blue ammonia is produced using current processes, with natural gas as a feedstock. The CO2 that is generated, however, is captured and stored permanently underground. The result is low-carbon ammonia that produces no CO2 during the combustion stage.
El Dorado Carbon Capture And Storage
In April 2022, LSB Industries announced a carbon capture and sequestration project at our El Dorado location that will capture and sequester between 400,000 and 500,000 metric tons of CO2 annually, while yielding between 305,000 and 380,0000 metric tons of low-carbon ammonia each year.