This model can provide a relatively realistic representation of the SMR process.
#Aspen hysys award software#
A simplified design was developed as the development of a typical SMR arrangement requires additional software to simulate the process. Ī model based using a plug-flow reactor design was created in Aspen HYSYS to simulate the SMR process, as shown in Fig. The reaction mechanisms, kinetics, equilibrium constants, and operating conditions determined by literature are utilised throughout the investigation (Dehkordi, Savari and Ghasemi, 2011 Xu and Forment, 1989). 3, and water-gas-shift (WGS) reaction, Eq. 2 (Reid, Prausnitz and Poling, 1977).įurthermore, t he reaction rates for the reforming, Eq. 1, and viscosity is determined using the Chapman-Enskog approach, described by Eq. The pressure drop is investigated using the Ergun Equation described by Eq. The project focused on the influence (often complex and interdependent) of several operational parameters on the SMR process to explore their influence on process performance (ultimately aiding process optimisation) using process simulation software. However, these technologies require further capital investment to become more cost competitive, and the process requires refinement to scale-up the technology sufficiently (Nikolaidis and Poullikkas, 2017).Ĭurrently, steam methane reforming (SMR) methodology in conjunction with carbon sequestration (CS) technology is providing offers the most promising short- to medium-term viable production method capable of meeting the large-scale hydrogen demand predicted. Producing ‘green hydrogen’ using emerging renewable electrolyser and photolysis technology, which operates using the basic principles of splitting water into its two constituents (oxygen and hydrogen) is most preferable. The hydrogen market was estimated to be worth $130 billion (in 2020) and is predicted to rise to $201 billion by 2050 (MarketsandMarkets, 2021). Fuel cells are intrinsically a carbon-free technology producing electricity, heat, and water as the sole by-products, while at the same time having fewer of the limitation’s battery powered vehicles (range and a reliance on expensive (and often difficult to source) raw materials). Hydrogen is predicted to have the potential of providing a quarter of the global energy consumption demand, within a multitude of large adjustable markets, if promoted by the government policies accordingly (Holger, 2020 Lacey, Kann and Gallagher, 2020).įurthermore, the link between hydrogen and fuel cells means that it can also be used to revolutionise the mobility sector.
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The birth of the ‘hydrogen economy’ can be reasonably placed in the period of the oil crisis of the 1970s, and despite limited progress towards this until the early 21st century, it has come to the fore again with the realisation that such a fuel source must form a significant part of the portfolio of responsible energy sources (Goltsov, Goltsova and Vasekin, 2008 Pacala and Socolow, 2004). In this paper, I discuss the background of the hydrogen economy, the limitations presented by renewable production, how non-renewables, in particular methane, may provide the key to helping to meet the expected demands and how this process modelling and simulation can pay a vital role in ensuring that such hydrogen production can be done responsibly. It is important, therefore, to consider how this ‘gap’ may be bridged most responsibly by the efficient use of non-renewable resources, writes Keelan Glennane of University College Dublin. Hydrogen is increasingly seen as an important element of future ‘energy landscape’ and while its production through renewable means offers great promise, it is apparent that such sources may not be sufficient to meet expected demands in the short to medium term.