Multiple criteria evaluation of hydrogen production processes for use in automotive sector

Abstract

This work evaluates large-scale hydrogen production processes - those capable of providing hydrogen for an eventual automotive hydrogen program in a community and along highways - with the aim to Sidentify which of the production processes of hydrogen is more attractive for an eventual automotive hydrogen program. To perform the research, the MACBETH (Measuring Attractiveness by the Category-Based Assessment Technique) method and the computational code M-MACBETH 3.2.0 are used taking into account multiple criteria. Thus, this work used the computational code M-MACBETH 3.2.0 to evaluate twelve hydrogen production processes and build rankings of attractiveness of hydrogen production processes, considering the following criteria: economic (invested capital and production cost), technical (the purity of the hydrogen produced) and environmental (the amount of energy used to produce 1 kg of hydrogen and the CO2 emissions to produce 1 kg of hydrogen). In the end, three rankings are produced considering three scenarios, which allow to conclude that: if decisions regarding hydrogen are made taking into account that economic and financial aspects have the same weight as sustainability aspects, the more attractive hydrogen plants are those that use the Solar Thermochemical Plants; if decisions are made taking into account that economic and financial aspects are more important than aspects of sustainability, the production process more attractive will be the one that uses the SR technology - Ethanol and Natural Gas Steam Reforming; and that Solar Thermochemical Plants becomes more attractive than all others alternatives when, in decision-making, sustainability environmental aspects prevail over economic and financial aspects.