Flexible Hydrogen and Power Co - generation based on Dry Methane Reforming with Carbon Capture

Abstract

Abstract This paper evaluates the dry reforming of methane (DRM) process with CO2 capture using an alkanolamine gas - liquid absorption system for flexible hydrogen and power co-generation. The evaluated plant concepts consider a net power output of about 500 MW net with a flexible hydrogen thermal output in the range of 0 to 200 MWth. The carbon capture rate of the CO2 capture unit is higher than 90%. The evaluations used process flow modeling performed using ChemCAD process simulator, as well as, process integration techniques (e.g. thermal integration via pinch analysis) for quantification of mass & energy balances of the overall process. The analysis is geared toward assessment of key technical and environmental indicators of flexible hydrogen and power co-generation based on DRM with CO2 capture such as: gross and net power output, hydrogen thermal output, cumulative energy efficiency, ancillary plant energy consumption, carbon capture rate, specific carbon dioxide emissions etc. As benchmark cases, conventional steam reforming and autothermal reforming, both equipped with CO2 capture using gas-liquid absorption, are used for comparison reason of DRM technology. Potential production of other energy carriers (e.g. synthetic fuels like methanol) by dry methane reforming with CO2 capture was also considered. As the key performance indicators show, the dry methane reforming process with CO2 capture has some advantages in comparison to the conventional steam methane reforming and autothermal reforming such as: higher energy efficiency and carbon capture rate, lower specific CO2 emissions, ability to process some of the captured CO2 instead of energy-intensive steam used for conventional methane reforming etc.