Abstract
Steam methane reforming (SMR) for hydrogen production was studied by simulating the reformer and pre-reformer sections. This simulation was validated by using available data taken from a real industrial plant, which enabled precise correlations with the real industrial process to be found. Moreover, the influence of the molar ratio between the raw materials (steam-to-carbon molar ratio, S/C) and the reformer outlet temperature (Tcc) was studied. The energy requirements for the reforming reaction increased with the S/C ratio. The energy needed for developing the reforming reaction also increased with Tcc, but the hydrogen yield when operating with a high S/C ratio and Tcc increased. In addition, an exergetic analysis was carried out to identify exergy losses in the SMR process, and most were destroyed in the chemical reactors. Increasing the combustion air flow was proposed for finding an optimum value for exergetic efficiency in the process, thereby reducing fuel consumption. Finally, there was a study into the economic viability of this investment, with a reduction of 22% in utility costs with the optimum exergetic value.
Highlights
Between 2000 and 2013, global energy demand grew by 38%
The analysis presented used an equilibrium model for making the chemical reactions in this study
To validate and check how accurate was the model developed using Aspen HYSYS®, the results were compared with the simplified process diagram of the industrial plant
Summary
Between 2000 and 2013, global energy demand grew by 38%. It is estimated that the world population will reach approximately 7.5 billion in 2025, with a 50–60% increase in global energy consumption in relation to current consumption [1]. To satisfy the increasingly demand for it, large-scale industrial processes must be developed for producing it. One such process is partial oxidation [3], in which a hydrocarbon feedstock is partially oxidized with oxygen to produce hydrogen after an exothermal reaction. One of the best methods for large-scale hydrogen production is steam methane reforming (SMR). SMR is an endothermal process in which methane reacts with steam to produce hydrogen. In this process, high-purity hydrogen can be obtained and different by-products generated during the reforming reactions can be reused. Over 50% of the world's H2 production comes from SMR [4]
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