(339h) Development of an Autothermal Integrated Methane Pyrolysis with Chemical Looping Combustion for Onsite Hydrogen Production

The limitations of hydrogen pipeline infrastructure especially between production plants and fueling as well as the issues of hydrogen embrittlement have stimulated interest in alternative hydrogen production pathways. A mobile autothermal methane pyrolysis unit is a promising pathway for hydrogen production that could help mitigate the challenges of hydrogen transportation and storage. The present study presents a novel methane pyrolysis integrated with chemical looping combustion for efficient hydrogen production. The process was simulated with Aspen plus and detailed techno- economic and life cycle assessment (LCA) were performed to evaluate the process economics and environmental impact. The introduction of chemical looping combustion increased the energy efficiency up to 92%. Additionally, the levelized cost of hydrogen for the proposed technology ranges between $1.3 U.S.D/KG - $1.5 U.S.D/kg. A cradle to gate LCA analysis was performed and compared with a standalone methane pyrolysis unit. LCA results shows that the process is environmentally benign compared to a stand-alone methane pyrolysis system. Additionally, a stochastic sensitivity analysis indicates that factors such as tax rate, catalyst and equipment purchase cost influenced the levelized cost of hydrogen.