How does techno-economic analysis and lifecycle assessment help in commercializing the biohydrogen supply chain?

Abstract

Hydrogen is considered as the fuel of the future not only because of its high energy density but also due to its zero-carbon emission potential during combustion. However, to achieve sustainable growth, the hydrogen generation process must be techno-economically feasible and have minimum carbon footprint. The techno-economic analysis (TEA) of various hydrogen generation process aids in identifying the effective bio-hydrogen generation process at minimal cost thereby aiding in faster dissemination of the system by attracting investors. Among the various techniques available for bio-hydrogen production, gasification was found to be most economical ($1.2/kg H2) followed by anaerobic digestion process ($1.25/kg H2). Meanwhile, after carrying out the life cycle analysis (LCA) of the different bio-hydrogen generation process, it was found that generation of bio-hydrogen by gasification of eucalyptus wood produced least carbon foot of −1.6 kg CO2eq./kg H2. Thus, the TEA and LCA of different biohydrogen production process also helps to identify the bottlenecks haunting the penetration of hydrogen in energy market which can be overcome by framing effective policies by the governing agencies.