Modeling of biogas to hydrogen conversion via steam reforming and pressure swing adsorption

Abstract

This work presents the modeling and simulation of the H<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf>-REF process for hydrogen production from biogas using DWSIM. The process integrates several thermochemical steps including steam reforming, water-gas shift (HT and LT), and pressure swing adsorption (PSA). A detailed flowsheet was constructed and simulated. Results show a hydrogen purity of 99.99 % and good mass balance performance. The simulation confirms the feasibility of H<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf>-REF under industrial conditions with favorable efficiency and potential for energy recovery. The use of DWSIM allowed a flexible and accurate representation of unit operations. Sensitivity studies were carried out on temperature, pressure, and H<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf>O/CH<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">4</inf> ratio to evaluate their influence on hydrogen production.