Comparison of Three Integrated Catalytic Partial Oxidation (CPO) Processes Producing H2 for Fuel Cell Application

Abstract

The objective of this work is to investigate the possibility of using membrane technology to simplify the conventional H2 producing process without membranes. For this purpose, two other processes making use of membranes are compared with the conventional process. The major units in the three integrated processes have been simulated. The reactor simulations are based on the kinetics of the reactions and the mechanism of membrane permeation. On the basis of the simulation results, the design of the three integrated processes has been carried out. Each process has been optimized in terms of heat recovery and heat integration. For the given inlet conditions and methane conversion, the effect of the H2 utilization ratio ηf (the percentage of the converted H2 to all the H2 fed into the fuel cell) on the overall exergy efficiency of the conventional process has been presented. The influence of H2 separation ratio σ (the mole rate of separated H2 to the mole rates of useful products (CO + H2) produced) on the ov...