Challenges in Laboratory Catalytic Testing for Ammonia Decomposition under Industrially Relevant Conditions

Abstract

Fundamental studies on screening catalyst materials with potential for application in large-scale industrial ammonia reforming processes pose a significant challenge. Not only are the requirements on the catalyst itself critical, but the industrially relevant reaction conditions impose very high demands on the reactor materials, especially in terms of temperature and corrosion resistance, as well as the general layout of a suitable test rig on laboratory scale. Here, an automatized setup for high-throughput studies on heterogeneous catalysts in ammonia decomposition, with a strong focus on reactor material selection and the capability of the setup to generate highly reproducible and thus comparable results, is described. With this approach, it is ultimately possible to contribute to identify possible catalyst materials applicable in industrial ammonia reforming.