Development of a robust and efficient biogas processor for hydrogen production. Part 1: Modelling and simulation

Yeidy Sorani Montenegro Camacho ,A Khinsky,L Marchisio,F Vilardo,F Rau,N Guilhaume,D Trimis,G Pantoleontos,Y Schuurman,M Antonini,Nickolas Vlachos ,Athanasios G Konstandopoulos ,Ehsan Rezaei ,Σουζάνα Λορέντζου ,Eric Werzner ,Alberto Ortona ,Mathilde Luneau ,Samir Bensaid ,Frédéric Meunier ,Axel S Herrmann ,Hartmut Krause ,Sandro Gianella ,Debora Fino

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.07.147

Abstract

The present work deals with the modelling and simulation of a biogas Demo-processor for green hydrogen production via Autothermal reforming (ATR) process aimed at covering a wide span of potential applications, from fuel cells feed up to the production of pure hydrogen. The biogas ATR unit is composed of a structured catalyst support close coupled to a wall-flow filter that retain soot particles that can be formed during the ATR reaction. Modelling and simulation (CFD and FEM) were carried out to select the innovative catalyst support with promising results for the fuel processor. 3D digital sample reconstruction was performed for the selection of the appropriate porous structures commercially available for the soot filtration and furthermore, 2D CFD analysis was also used to examine flow uniformity issues due to soot trap integration downstream to the ATR. Moreover, the inherent flexibility of the model performed allowed its application in the assessment of the Demonstration plant operating in real conditions. Besides, Aspen simulation has demonstrated that the ATR process is the most promising process to hydrogen production compared to other types of reforming process.

Highlights

Biogas is a renewable source of methane, it is produced from the anaerobic digestion of organic matter and is mainly composed of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) and minor species such as hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, humidity, etc. [1,2]
The fed mixture is supported by a steam ejector, which operates with the superheated steam-air mixture
The last section consists of the gas purification with high and low-temperature water gas shift (HT-WGS and LT-WGS) reactors as well as a downstream pressure swing adsorption (PSA) unit [42e44]

Summary

Introduction

Biogas is a renewable source of methane, it is produced from the anaerobic digestion of organic matter and is mainly composed of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) and minor species such as hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, humidity, etc. [1,2]. Biogas is a renewable source of methane, it is produced from the anaerobic digestion of organic matter and is mainly composed of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) and minor species such as hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, humidity, etc. Biogas can be directly used as a combustible; the combustion process of biogas to generate heat has a low efficiency, because the humidity and CO2 content decrease the calorific value of the fuel [3,4]. Biogas can be converted into hydrogen-rich syngas via catalytic reforming process for fuel cell application [3]. Hydrogen is a promising energy carrier with high energy capacity and zero carbon content [5e7]. The reforming process for hydrogen production are: dry reforming (DR), steam reforming (SR), catalytic partial oxidation (CPOX), and auto thermal reforming (ATR) process, according to the following Reactions (R1eR4), respectively.

Methods

Results

Conclusion