On The Intensification Of Natural Gas-Based Hydrogen Production Utilizing Hybrid Energy Resources

In this work, parametric studies are carried out for natural gas-based hydrogen production systems utilizing hybrid energy sources, such as natural gas and concentrated solar power (CSP). The main technologies utilized in the considered networks consist of steam methane reforming, reverse water-gas shift, high-temperature shift, and low-temperature shift reactors; ideal hydrogen and carbon dioxide separators; water flash separators; pressure changing devices; and a heat exchange network (HEN). A broad search of the design space is carried out within the Infinite DimEnsionAl State-space conceptual framework, which allows for the simultaneous synthesis of the hydrogen production process and its associated HEN using linear programming. The identified designs minimize the total cost of three hot utilities and one cold utility, subject to bounding constraints on the work of separation and the HEN area. The level of exothermicity of the reforming operations, and the extent of CSP use, are shown to depend on the employed utility cost ratios and the aforementioned work and area bounds.