Simulation modelling of hydrogen production from steam reforming of methane and biogas

Abstract

The use of fossil fuels in energy systems has environmental consequences, which are driving investigations into H2 production. While steam methane reforming is the most well-known method for producing H2, other thermochemical pathways are becoming more prevalent. Steam-reforming of biogas is also a beneficial procedure for producing eco-friendly hydrogen gas and minimizing the burden on fossil fuels. In this study, a simulation modelling of steam methane reforming (SMR) and steam biogas reforming (SBR) are presented. The model reveals the hydrogen production reaction mechanism and validates its performance through simulation analysis using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.6 software (finite element analysis). The developed model has been validated by available previous experiments and simulation work for biogas reforming with various compositions as well as the methane reforming process. The core aim of this study is to estimate the yield of H2 for SMR, and H2 and CO for SBR at steam carbon ratio (S/C) from 1 to 3 with various temperatures, and find the optimum temperature for the reforming process. The yields of hydrogen (mol/mol-CH4) are achieved higher from SMR as 12% and 22 % for comparison with the experiment and previous simulation study at S/C = 2, at a temperature of 700 °C. The H2 yields (mol/mol-CH4) are achieved higher as 30% at 800 °C, 21% at 1000 °C, and 20% at 1200 °C (average percentage of mol for steam carbon ratio from 1 to 3) and compared with previous simulation study at the same operating temperatures, stated by SBR. The findings indicate that the proposed work offers a viable method for utilizing distributed renewable methane resources to fuel cells and generate local electricity.