Techno-economic analysis of processes with integration of fluidized bed heat exchangers for H2 production – Part 2: Chemical-looping combustion

Journal article, 2021

This work covers a techno-economic assessment for processes with inherent CO2 separation, where a fluidized bed heat exchanger (FBHE) is used as heat source for steam reforming in a hydrogen production plant. This article builds upon the work presented in Part 1 of this study by Stenberg et al. [1], where a process excluding CO2 capture was examined. Part 2 suggests two process configurations integrating steam reforming with a chemical-looping combustion (CLC) system, thus providing inherent CO2 capture. The first system (case CM) uses natural gas as supplementary fuel whereas the second system (case CB) uses solid biomass, which enables net negative CO2 emissions. In both systems, the reformer tubes are immersed in a bubbling fluidized bed where heat for steam reforming is efficiently transferred to the tubes. The processes include CO2 compression for pipeline transportation, but excludes transport and storage. The CLC system is designed based on key parameters, such as the oxygen carrier circulation rate and oxygen transport capacity. The first system displays a process with net zero emissions and a hydrogen production efficiency which is estimated to 76.2%, which is almost 8% higher than the conventional process. The levelized production cost is 1.6% lower at below 2.6 €/kg H2. The second system shows the possibility to reduce the emissions to −34.1 g CO2/MJH2 compared to the conventional plant which emits 80.7 g CO2/MJH2. The hydrogen production efficiency is above 72% and around 2% higher than the conventional process. The capital investments are higher in this plant and the levelized hydrogen production cost is estimated to around 2.67 €/kg. The cost of CO2 avoidance, based on a reference SMR plant with CO2 capture, is low for both cases (−4.3 €/tonCO2 for case CM and 2.7 €/tonCO2 for case CB).