Lorena Mosca, Jose Antonio Medrano Jimenez, Solomon Assefa Wassie, Fausto Gallucci,

Emma Palo, Michele Colozzi, Stefania Taraschi, Giulio Galdieri,

Process design for green hydrogen production,
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy,
Volume 45, Issue 12,
2020,
Pages 7266-7277,
ISSN 0360-3199,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.08.206.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360319919332252)
Abstract: A membrane assisted process for green hydrogen production from a
bioethanol derived feedstock is here developed and evaluated, starting from the
conventional Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) process. Such a process is suitable for
centralized hydrogen production, and is here analyzed for a large-scale H2
production unit with the capacity of 40.000 Nm3/h. The basic Steam Ethanol
Reforming (SER) process scheme is modified in a membrane assisted process by
integrating the Pd-membrane separation steps in the most suitable reaction steps.
The membrane assisted process, configured in three alternative architectures (Open
architecture, Membrane Reactor and Hybrid architecture) was evaluated in terms of
efficiencies and hydrogen yields, obtaining a clear indication of improved process
performance. The alternative membrane assisted process architectures are compared
to the basic SER process and to the benchmark SMR process fed by natural gas, for
an overall comparative assessment of the efficiency and specific CO2 emissions and
for an economic analysis based on the operating expenditures.
Keywords: Ethanol reforming; Membrane reactor; Process scheme; Green hydrogen
production; Process intensification