che_october-2023 - 13

Newsfront
Methane Reforming:
Solving the Hydrogen Blues
Improved catalysts and reconfigured reformer designs make steam-methane reforming the
most scalable, industry-ready source of 'blue' H2
F
or many decades, steam-methane
reforming (SMR) has been, and still
is, the technology of choice for the
large-scale production of synthesis
gas (syngas; a mixture of H2 and CO), which
is used for making a large number of chemicals,
including ammonia, methanol, acetic
acid, liquid fuels and more. When only H2
is desired, such as for ammonia production,
steel making and petroleum-refining applications,
the CO in the syngas is " shifted "
to CO2 using the water-gas shift reaction
(WGSR). In the past, the CO2 produced
from SMRs - both from the burning of fuel
to heat the reformer tubes and the product
from the reforming reaction - has been, for
the most part, released to the atmosphere.
Now, with goals to reduce the global
emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) taking
center stage, efforts are underway to
generate H2 with a low carbon footprint. As
a result, there has been a growing interest
in water electrolysis as a source for " green "
hydrogen. However, electrolyzers are still
expensive, are not scalable to meet the
large demands for H2, and the availability
of a reliable, inexpensive source of " green "
electricity to run them is still not a reality.
Until these issues hampering the shift to
green H2 are addressed, the medium-term
solution is " blue " hydrogen - H2 made by
Air Liquide
conventional reforming technologies, but
combined with carbon capture, utilization
and storage (CCUS).
Improving SMR efficiencies
A first step for reducing CO2 emissions from
SMR (or any process) is to improve the overall
efficiency. One example of a new-generation
SMR developed by Air Liquide Engineering
& Construction (Frankfurt, Germany;
www.engineering-airliquide.com) is SMR-X
technology. SMR-X is a new type of reformer
that produces H2 without excess steam, a
byproduct that is declining in demand from
users. Compared to conventional steam
methane reforming, SMR-X features higher
thermal efficiency at low steam co-production
ratios and emits less CO2.
Some of the notable advantages of this
next-generation reforming technology are
increases in the overall yield of the H2 production
process by roughly 5%, together with
an intrinsic reduction of CO2 emissions (precapture)
of 5%, making it a reforming process
with a significantly reduced carbon footprint.
In combination with Air Liquide's CO2capture
technologies, like Cryocap, the
SMR-X technology route can provide the
lowest carbon intensities and highest conversion
efficiencies, making it a key pillar for
the energy transition and decarbonization
projects, unlocking attractive H2 routes for
small- and medium-production capacities,
says the company.
FIGURE 1. This plant in Antwerp, Belgium is the first to use
Air Liquide's SMR-X process. The plant started up in 2021
Air Liquide has been operating an industrial-scale
plant (Figure 1) with this technology
in Antwerp, Belgium since April 2021
and is said to be the first industrial-size
greenfield recuperative-reforming plant in
the world. The SMR-X technology is currently
selected in many ongoing low-carbon
H2 concept and technology studies, as well
as projects advancing to the front-end engineering
and design (FEED) stage.
Catalyst developments are also leading
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
OCTOBER 2023
13
IN BRIEF
IMPROVED SMR
EFFICIENCIES
BLUE HYDROGEN
AUTOTHERMAL
REFORMING
OTHER NEWS
http://www.engineering-airliquide.com http://WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
che_october-2023

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