Modelling of hydrogen production systems through Steam Methane Reforming and CO2 capture for industrial applications

This work aims at providing a deeper insight into large scale hydrogen production facilities through Steam Methane Reforming and CO2 capture and storage, considered as a promising option for the decarbonization scenario that has to be reached by the end of 2050. First of all, a technological overview was carried out in order to explore all the feasible options that are present in this moment at different scales, both in terms of size of the plants and development stage. Relevant parameters were extracted from literature, leading to the confidence that Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC) driven plants could become a worhy substitute of tradtional Steam Methane Reforming ones. Thus, both plant layouts were modelled in ASPEN PLUS, implementing operating parameters derived from literature or reasonable assumptions. A more detailed focus was carried on the fluid bed reactors of CLC plant, given the increased complexity of the model if proper block is chosen for its modelization. The models then provided promising results, that were analzyed both at a component and system level. In particular, the attention was driven to the comparison between the total resources needed by both plants, at fixed hydrogen productivity, resulting in additional expenses for the CLC driven plant. Nevertheless, CLC has the advantage that all the CO2 produced can be removed by simple condensation of the final exhaust, making it a competitive option from environmental point of view. Finally, a techno-economical analysis was performed in order to understand the feasibility of the investment in such plants. Results were comfortable, since provided very high Net Present Values and low Payback Times, strenghtening the idea that, with a proper infrastructure dedicated at its diffusion, hydrogen could play a dominat role for the energy panorama in the next future.