| dc.description.abstract | Ammonia as a transportation fuel offers a carbon-free, hydrogen rich energy source
that emits no greenhouse gases in combustion, and has no global warming potential.
Furthermore, it may be produced from any renewable energy resource, and is a
strong option for long term sustainability. Ammonia also provides a pathway
towards a hydrogen economy, which is the long term goal for environmental
sustainability.
This thesis investigates the feasibility of integrating ammonia as a combustion
fuel, hydrogen carrier, heat recovery and working fluid, and for indirect engine
cooling, within locomotive propulsion systems for nine novel ammonia-based
configurations. Thermodynamic, environmental, and economic analyses are
conducted for a typical modern diesel-fueled locomotive and the proposed ammonia
configurations. The study comparatively assesses potential long term solutions for
sustainable, clean rail transportation.
From the modeled results, the proposed systems operating with 50% of
required fuel energy replaced by ammonia have a reduction in diesel fuel
consumption from 0.211 kg/s to less than 0.10 kg/s. This is associated with a
reduction in GHG emissions of more than 8 tonnes CO2eq for a typical daily
locomotive duty cycle for commuter operation. Criteria air contaminants are reduced
to below upcoming Tier 3 emission levels for NOx and HC emissions, and meet
current levels for PM emissions. In total, ten locomotive propulsion systems are
investigated including the diesel-fueled locomotive baseline, and the performance
gains are considered against economic factors for fuel and equipment costs in a
comparative assessment. | en |
