Step-Out Technology for Producing Hydrogen from Natural Gas

75270-Steam methane reforming (SMR), the predominant commercial route for producing hydrogen, is a capital-intensive process ¿ capital charges represent 35-45% of product cost. In order to achieve the significant cost reductions required for the transition to a ¿hydrogen economy,¿ a meaningful shift in the underpinning reactor technology will be needed. This project will develop a safe, cost-effective technology to produce hydrogen via the steam-reforming of methane reaction. An innovative technology will be used to simplify the reactor design by: (1) reducing thermodynamic barriers to the SMR and water-gas shift reactions, and (2) completely eliminating the need for hydrogen purification. Phase I will prove the feasibility of this new technology in a bench scale reactor. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The new approach to the steam-reforming challenge should achieve significant reductions in both capital costs and natural gas consumption. Hydrogen produced by this route should be cost effective for both large- and small-scale applications.