Steam reforming of methanol for ultra-pure H-2 production in a membrane reactor: Techno-economic analysis

Abstract

Process simulation and design as well as economic analysis were carried out to evaluate technical and economic feasibility of steam reforming of methanol in a membrane reactor (MR) for ultra-pure H-2 production. Using a commercial process simulator, Aspen HYSYS (R), comparative studies were conducted to investigate the effect of operating conditions including the H-2 permeance (1 x 10(-5) - 6 x 10(-1) mol m(-2) S-1 Pa-1), a H2O sweep gas flow rate (1-20 kmol h(-1)), and a reaction temperature (448-493 K) in a conventional packed-bed reactor (PBR) and the MR using a previously reported reaction kinetics. Improved performances such as methanol conversions and H-2 yields were observed in the MR compared to the PBR and several design guidelines for the MR were obtained to develop H-2 separation membranes with optimal H-2 permeance and to select a suitable H2O sweep gas flow rate. In addition, economic analysis based on itemized cost estimations was conducted for a small sized H-2 fueling station by calculating a unit H-2 production cost for both the PBR and the MR reflecting a current economic status in Korea. As a result, a cost saving of about 23% was obtained in the MR (7.24 $ kgH(2)(-1)) compared to the PBR (9.37 $ kgH(2)(-1)) confirming the benefit of employing the MR for ultra-pure H-2 production.