Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
Volume 32, Issue 18, Pages 4811-4820Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2007.08.025
Keywords
exergy analysis; hydrogen production; steam methane reforming
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The performance of hydrogen production via steam methane reforming (SMR) is evaluated using exergy analysis, with emphasis on exergy flows, destruction, waste, and efficiencies. A steam methane reformer model was developed using a chemical equilibrium model with detailed heat integration. A base-case system was evaluated using operating parameters from published literature. Reformer operating parameters were varied to illustrate their influence on system performance. The calculated thermal and exergy efficiencies of the base-case system are lower than those reported in literature. The majority of the exergy destruction occurs due to the high irreversibility of chemical reactions and heat transfer. A significant amount of exergy is wasted in the exhaust stream. The variation of reformer operating parameters illustrated an inverse relationship between hydrogen yield and the amount of methane required by the system. The results of this investigation demonstrate the utility of exergy analysis and provide guidance for where research and development in hydrogen production via SMR should be focused. (c) 2007 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available