Review of Materials Research · 2026

Materials and system design for industrial heating with partially cracked ammonia

Partially cracked ammonia as a carbon-free fuel for high-temperature industries: A material-centric review

Partial cracking turns ammonia into a more reactive ammonia–hydrogen fuel for high-temperature industrial heating. This review examines the material and system-design challenges on the path to industrial use.

The motivation

High-temperature furnaces and kilns require not only heat input but also flame-driven radiation, convection and process control. Ammonia offers storage and transport advantages and contains no carbon, yet direct combustion presents ignition, stability and NOₓ-control challenges. Partial cracking supplies hydrogen to improve combustion while introducing additional demands on catalysts, equipment materials and system integration.

The approach

This is a literature review. It first examines the thermodynamics and kinetics of partial ammonia cracking and the combustion characteristics of the resulting fuel blends. It then evaluates cracking catalysts and reactors, flue-gas treatment materials and high-temperature structural materials, identifying application limits and gaps in validation under industrial cycling and coupled service conditions.

Review framework for partially cracked ammonia in high-temperature industry, linking fuel processing, industrial heating and flue-gas treatment with catalyst and structural-material design. Original Fig. 1.

Key findings

The highest cracking fraction is not necessarily optimal. Flame stability, cracking heat demand, flashback, NOₓ, ammonia slip and system complexity must be balanced; industrial heating requires controlled hydrogen enrichment rather than complete conversion in every case.
High moisture, residual ammonia and possible impurities in ammonia-combustion exhaust can expose deNOₓ catalysts to combined hydrothermal aging, poisoning and deposition. The review identifies simplified, single-factor tests as insufficient for assessing practical service performance.
Structural materials may face nitridation, hydrogen-related damage, steam-assisted oxidation and coupled corrosion. The review calls for long-term assessment under realistic atmospheres, thermal cycling and stress, together with coordinated selection of catalysts, reactors and protective materials.

About this paper

Jianguo Du, Yuping Chen, Jiwei Zhou, Zuguo Shen, Zhou Yu, Yi-Bing Cheng, Yu Wang

Review of Materials Research · 2026 · 2 · 100293

Publisher record (DOI)