(390f) Trade-Off Analysis between Hydrogen and Electricity Productions in Chemical Looping Hydrogen Production Processes

Hydrogen has gained significant attention as a clean and renewable energy carrier in response to growing environmental concerns and the global demand for sustainable energy solutions. Among the available hydrogen production methods, steam methane reforming remains the most established method and is cost-efficient, but it involves a complex process and emits substantial amounts of CO₂. While carbon capture and storage can mitigate these emissions, the added cost limits its practicality. Electrolysis is a promising method for producing zero-emission hydrogen from renewables, albeit with high energy demand. As an alternative approach, chemical looping hydrogen production (CLHP) offers a simplified process and flexibility in feedstock utilization including renewable sources thereby enabling sustainable and efficient hydrogen production. It also enables co-production of hydrogen and electricity with inherent CO₂ capture, supporting cost-effective operation and improved energy integration compared to conventional methods.

Previous studies have investigated process efficiencies and economic feasibility in electricity and hydrogen co-generation process by varying system configurations [1]. However, existing analyses have not sufficiently considered the impact of utilizing diverse feedstocks. CLHP offers flexibility in feedstock selection, which makes it a promising option for environmentally sustainable solutions. Such flexibility underscores the need to consider a broader range of fuel sources including biomass-based fuels (e.g. biogas, biomass syngas) to understand their implications on overall process performance. When dealing with a broader range of feedstocks, it is also important to account for their inherent compositional uncertainties, which often lead to fluctuating input characteristics [2]. These variations must be reflected in the analysis to accurately evaluate their impact on process efficiency and economic performance. Furthermore, a comprehensive analysis of the trade-off between hydrogen and electricity co-production is essential for evaluating the flexibility and overall performance of CLHP systems under varying feedstock compositions and process configurations.

Acknowledging these research gaps, this study performs process modeling of CLHP to examine hydrogen and electricity co-production across a variety of feedstocks. Feedstock composition variability is represented within defined bounds to reflect intrinsic compositional properties and operational variability observed in practical applications. Sensitivity analyses are conducted to investigate the trade-off between hydrogen and electricity production in CLHP by examining how compositional variability and operating conditions affect process performance and by evaluating multiple process configurations designed to maximize either hydrogen or electricity output across different feedstock profiles. These analyses are carried out with a focus on energy efficiency and economic outcomes to assess the overall viability of each case. The results offer insight into how feedstock variability and process configuration influence CLHP performance, particularly in shaping the trade-off between hydrogen and electricity production, and highlight its potential for flexible, low-carbon energy applications under diverse conditions.

Reference

[1] Zhang, A. Tong, L.S. Fan, “Hydrogen and Electric Power Cogeneration in Novel Redox Chemical Looping Systems: Operational Schemes and Tech-Economic Impact,” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Volume 62, issue 12, pp. 5065-5082, 2023.

[2] Yi Fang, Li Ma, Zhiyi Yao, Wangliang Li, Siming You, “Process optimization of biomass gasification with a Monte Carlo approach and random forest algorithm,” Energy Conversion and Management, Volume 264, 2022.