sunita somvanshi
A team of researchers at MIT revealed in a recent study that using ammonia as an alternative maritime fuel could further degrade air quality and have serious public health impacts.
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Switching the global fleet to ammonia fuel could lead to 600,000 premature deaths annually under current regulations; however, with better laws and cleaner engine technology, the number of premature deaths could be reduced by 66,000.
Traditionally, ammonia is produced by separating hydrogen from natural gas and then combining it with nitrogen at extremely high temperatures, resulting in a large carbon footprint
The maritime shipping industry is considering "green ammonia," a greener alternative, produced using renewable energy to generate hydrogen through electrolysis and to provide heat.
Researchers gathered data from an experiment involving two ship engines: one powered by burning pure ammonia and the other by mixing ammonia with hydrogen.
Researchers concluded that without new regulations, ship engines burning pure ammonia could result in 681,000 additional early deaths annually, severely impacting global public health.
Cleaner engine technology could reduce early deaths due to maritime shipping emissions by 20,000, bringing the total down to 80,000, and could further decrease to 66,000 with stronger global regulations.
The impact of ammonia on air quality would vary across different regions, requiring coordinated strategies to address the issue globally.
Researchers aim to gather more engine data to better understand the effects on air quality and climate, thereby informing policymakers about the importance and urgency of updating shipping emission regulations.