Coupled Process for Production of Hydrogen from Bio-based Feedstocks

Project SummaryWith an accelerating global transition to low-carbon-emission vehicles hydrogen-powered fuelcells have attracted increasing attention especially in the heavy-duty vehicle forklift agricultureand construction equipment sectors where batteries lack sufficient capacity and carry a weightliability.Hydrogen production by large scale electrolyzers has been proposed for locations of low- cost hydro or nuclear electricity or when co-located with large renewable power sources like windfarms and large solar installations.However there are large energy and economic penaltiesassociated with hydrogen liquefaction transport and delivery; especially to remote or largely rurallocations.In contemplating distributed production of hydrogen it makes far more sense to transport thefeedstock to points of production and use.This creates a unique opportunity for ethanol to playan important role in hydrogen production because it is already abundantly available readilyextractable from fermentation of biomass low toxicity and it can achieve carbon neutrality.The ProjectAn essential component to the use of ethanol as a green source of hydrogen is the ability toefficiently and cost effectively convert it to hydrogen in a compact system that can be easilyreplicated in many locales.With that goal in mind this proposal describes the integration of twoenabling technologies: the integration of adiabatic oxidative reformer system and a waterelectrolyzer that in combination eliminate major cost components and greatly simplify theprocess of converting ethanol to hydrogen.In addition to diversifying the ethanol markethydrogen offers ethanol producers an additional value-added option to fuel grade ethanol.The objectives of the project revolve largely around the design engineering the small-scaledemonstration and economic analysis of the combined technologies using 95% ethanol as afeedstock and by-product oxygen from an electrolyzer to produce 99.999% H and a pure stream2 of CO2.To demonstrate the technical and economic viability of the proposed technology the work planconsists of:1.Construction and operation of a reduced-scale adiabatic oxidative reformer to finalize catalystformulations and validation of engineering simulations.2.Design and testing a feedback loop control system to coordinate the integrated operation of theoxidative reformer and electrolyzer.3.Develop cash flow model for hydrogen production from ethanol with simultaneous productionof hydrogen and oxygen from electrolysisThe CustomerRecognizing the limitations of batteries and the shift to reduce emissions Volvo Cummins NewHolland Deere Kubota CNHi and AGCO are rapidly addressing fuel-cell and H -powered2 internal combustion equipment.The reason is because by weight the energy density of hydrogenis superior to all other choices exceeding that of all hydrocarbon options.Hydrogen has almostthree times the energy density as diesel (120 MJ/kg for H versus 45.5 MJ/kg for diesel).2 Value PropositionFor the industry to grow it is essential that hydrogen be economically available and distributedwidely enough to support the growing demand.The United States and Brazil are the world'slargest producers of ethanol.With the potential for decreasing demand of fuel ethanol as EV'sbegin to populate the roads there is an opportunity to capitalize on that decreasing demand andoffer a value-added product.Since ethanol transport delivery handling and storage are largelycompatible with existing infrastructure with the right conversion technology ethanol can be avaluable source of hydrogen for distributed generation (500 - 1500 kg/day) in locations proximalto the point of use.