Process design and integration for the electrification of a SMR-based hydrogen plant with absorption-based CO2 capture

Abstract

Decarbonizing hydrogen production via steam methane reforming (SMR) requires innovative approaches that go beyond integrating CO2 capture. Interest in electrified heating systems as a sustainable alternative for fossil fuel-based furnace heating has increased as a result of the decline in renewable electricity costs. As the generation and utilization of energy in an electrified heating system is different from that of conventional heating systems, a systematic process design approach should be employed for achieving energy-efficient integration of electrified units for the electrification of hydrogen plants. In this study, a process modeling and simulation framework is developed for the electrified hydrogen plant, incorporating energetic analysis using heat integration. Case studies are conducted to examine all the process configurational changes associated with electrified heating systems and their plant-wide impacts on the energy system. Techno-economic analysis (TEA) is carried out to estimate the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) and CO2 avoidance cost (CAC) which can improve our understanding of the techno-economic impact of electrification. TEA results show that when the electric reformer conversion rate is 75 %, electrified hydrogen production can be more cost-effective than conventional SMR-based hydrogen production if the natural gas price (NGP, $/MMBtu) and electricity price (EP, $/MWh) satisfy EP ≤ 4.177 × NGP − 2.633. These findings highlight the cost benefits and challenges of electrified hydrogen production, identifying certain economic circumstances under which electrified hydrogen plants would be more cost-effective than conventional hydrogen plants.