AMBURN – reaching new stakes

Currently ~4.5 million tonnes of oil are consumed in the off-mains industrial market annually in the UK. These energy intensive processes contribute to point source emissions of 14.2 MtCO2/y. Businesses and industries in these locations often cannot rely solely on electricity to satisfy their process heating requirements. Decarbonisation of these sites therefore presents a significant and pressing challenge. Therefore, the AMBURN project will develop and demonstrate a 1 MW ammonia-fed steam boiler to help decarbonise off-grid businesses across the UK. Funded by the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero as part of the UK Government’s £55m Industrial Fuel Switching Competition, Flogas Britain and Cardiff University will prove that ammonia is a viable, cost-effective renewable fuel for large energy users off the mains gas grid. Phase 2 of AMBURN will build upon the main findings outlined in the feasibility study of Phase 1, further developing the design of AMBURN, conducting two stages of testing to enable a scale up of two orders of magnitude throughout the project, and finally carrying out a demonstration at a real customer site.

Latest experiments have confirmed power outputs up to 250kW using a smaller version of the AMBURN burner. The unit has demonstrated stable operation, low emissions and high versatility (operating from 2 to 250kW), hence showing the capabilities of the team in the development of industrial burners for their use with net zero fuels. It is anticipated that the system, once scaled up, will reach the desired 1 MW condition whilst mitigating emissions in the post-combustion zone, thus maximising efficiency and reducing equipment costs.

250kW flame under stable conditions.