Experimental Demonstration and Validation of Hydrogen Production Based on Gasification of Lignocellulosic Feedstock

• Main Authors: Jürgen Loipersböck, Markus Luisser, Stefan Müller, Hermann Hofbauer, Reinhard Rauch
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-12-01
• Series: ChemEngineering
• Subjects: hydrogen; energy system; catalysis; reforming; modeling
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2305-7084/2/4/61

The worldwide production of hydrogen in 2010 was estimated to be approximately 50 Mt/a, mostly based on fossil fuels. By using lignocellulosic feedstock, an environmentally friendly hydrogen production route can be established. A flow sheet simulation for a biomass based hydrogen production plant was published in a previous work. The plant layout consisted of a dual fluidized bed gasifier including a gas cooler and a dust filter. Subsequently, a water gas shift plant was installed to enhance the hydrogen yield and a biodiesel scrubber was used to remove tars and water from the syngas. CO₂ was removed and the gas was compressed to separate hydrogen in a pressure swing adsorption. A steam reformer was used to reform the hydrocarbon-rich tail gas of the pressure swing adsorption and increase the hydrogen yield. Based on this work, a research facility was erected and the results were validated. These results were used to upscale the research plant to a 10 MW fuel feed scale. A validation of the system showed a chemical efficiency of the system of 60% and an overall efficiency of 55%, which indicates the high potential of this technology.