Process analysis for hydrogen production of an Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) Electrolyzer

The thesis concerns the process analysis and sizing of a hydrogen generation plant based on AEM (Anion electrolyte/Exchanged membrane) technology, aimed at the study of the process and its components. In the design phase, the under designed plant must use equipment complying with the European ATEX regulation concerning potentially explosive atmospheres, API standards for sizing and installation of safety relieve-devices and PED directive for classifying the pressure equipment according to the increasing danger criteria. The work performed began with a detailed description of a new design with an electrical capacity of 500 kW for the generation of 50 Nm3/h of oxygen and 100 Nm3/h of hydrogen with a purity of 99.999%. The operation was explained through the Process Flow Diagram (PFD). It provides the relationship between the main components of the facility without reporting the peculiar details at first. Then the dimensioning criteria adopted for the various system components by type are reported. After process analysis and its components dimensioning a simulation of the overall system was developed through Aspen Plus®V10 software to evaluate an improvement through an energy analysis.