Process and apparatus for cracking ammonia

A process for cracking ammonia comprising:

• providing a heated ammonia gas at super-atmospheric pressure;
• passing the heated ammonia gas, or a fractionally cracked ammonia gas derived therefrom, over a first catalyst in an electrically heated reactor to cause cracking of ammonia and produce a partially cracked ammonia gas comprising hydrogen gas and nitrogen gas;
• combusting a fuel with an oxidant gas to heat reactor tubes containing a second catalyst in a fired reactor to produce a flue gas;
• feeding the partially cracked ammonia gas to the reactor tubes in the fired reactor to cause cracking of further ammonia and produce a cracked gas comprising hydrogen gas, nitrogen gas and residual ammonia gas;
• cooling the cracked gas to provide cooled cracked gas;
• and
• recovering hydrogen from the cooled cracked gas to produce a hydrogen gas product and an offgas comprising nitrogen gas, residual hydrogen gas and residual ammonia gas,
• wherein the offgas, or a cracked offgas derived therefrom, is used as at least part of the fuel combusted with the oxidant gas.