Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
Optimal sizing and renewable integration for green ammonia plants in South Africa |
| Authors: |
Woods, Joshua Anderton |
| Contributors: |
Rix, A. J., Van Staden, C., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. |
| Publisher Information: |
Stellenbosch University |
| Publication Year: |
2025 |
| Collection: |
Stellenbosch University: SUNScholar Research Repository |
| Subject Terms: |
Ammonia -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa, Green technology -- Technological innovations -- South Africa, Renewable energy sources -- South Africa, Genetic algorithms -- Data processing -- South Africa, UCTD |
| Description: |
Woods, J. A. 2025. Optimal Sizing and Renewable Integration for Green Ammonia Plants in South Africa. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/5f6b5352-062c-48b7-907f-d4abc1f0d79f ; Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. ; ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Countries worldwide are shifting focus towards sustainable and renewable processes in all sectors, in a collective effort to reduce carbon emissions. Current ammonia production consumes 2% of global energy and contributes 1.3% of global carbon emissions. Green ammonia production is a sustainable contribution to reducing global carbon emissions. Currently, there is little publically known research on green ammonia plants in South Africa, this research aims to address this gap by optimally placing and sizing a green ammonia plant. This thesis investigates the optimal sizing of a fully off-grid green ammonia plant in South Africa. The research focuses on the technical and economic factors affecting green ammonia production, specifically minimising the Levelised Cost of Ammonia (LCOA) and maximising plant Capacity Factor (CF). A Genetic Algorithm (GA) was employed to accomplish the multi-objective optimisation. The GA optimised various plant configurations, comprising solar, wind, battery, hydrogen and nitrogen storage. Additionally, 15 sites across South Africa were selected and simulated over a year. The results indicate that the intensity of the renewable energy resource plays a significant role in the plant’s performance. These locations produced low LCOA and high plant CFs. Site 9, near Noupoort in the Karoo, produced a LCOA of 675.3USD/ton and plant CF of 89.71%. This is below the global average for green ammonia production costs. However, this is still significantly higher than traditional production methods. Configurations containing a combination of wind and solar systems performed best; the complementary nature allowed production to continue at night if sufficient wind was available. ... |
| Document Type: |
thesis |
| File Description: |
xviii, 141 pages : illustrations; application/pdf |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132309 |
| Availability: |
https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132309 |
| Rights: |
Stellenbosch University |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.BD6B8CDB |
| Database: |
BASE |