Technical and economic feasibility under uncertainty for methane dry reforming of coke oven gas as simultaneous H-2 production and CO2 utilization

Abstract

The ultimate goal of this work is technical and economic feasibility analysis of a methane dry reforming (MDR) using a coke oven gas (COG) for a H-2 production capability of 700 m(3) h(-1) because this technology is the promising alternative approach to H-2 production as well as CO2 utilization. From process simulation works, process flow diagram is created for MDR using COG and validated by performance results from the previously reported literature. With a process flow diagram to be confirmed via model validation, the best reaction temperature of 1073 K is observed in terms of methane conversion. Based on process simulation results, economic analysis is performed. Furthermore, case studies focusing on an operating expense are conducted to consider various aspects of a CO2 price and confirm the effect of CO2 price on unit H-2 production cost. Respective H-2 production costs of 3.27, 2.71, and 2.38 $ kgH(2)(-1) for a case 1 (reference), a case 2 (case 1 + CO2 absorption), and a case 3 (case 2 + CO2 from a blast furnace) are obtained. In addition, uncertainty analysis is performed to suggest the possible H-2 production cost range for each case by considering the uncertainty of CO2 price fluctuation. Consequently, it is expected that a MDR using a COG is feasible for a H-2 production as well as CO2 utilization technology compared to the current by-product H-2 cost if carbon cap-and-trade system is activated.