Hydrogen amplification from coke oven gas using a CO2 adsorption enhanced hydrogen amplification reactor

To improve coke oven gas (COG) energy conversion, alternative configurations for amplifying hydrogen from COG are proposed in this paper. In these new configurations, a CO2 adsorption enhanced hydrogen amplification reactor is combined with a pressure swing adsorption separation unit (PSA) to produce pure hydrogen. Hydrogen production was integrated with desorption gas utilization, in situ CO2 capture and waste heat recovery to improve COG energy conversion efficiency and decrease CO2 emissions. To analyze the advantages of the flowsheet modifications, technical and economic performance indicators were used to evaluate and compare the performances of the various system configurations. Simulation results show that the alternative configurations proposed in this paper have higher energy conversion efficiencies, higher hydrogen yields and shorter dynamic payback periods. The variation of technical performance with reaction temperature, pressure, sorbent to carbon ratio and steam to carbon ratio were also analyzed using a sensitivity study. Optimal operating conditions for the CO2 adsorption enhanced hydrogen amplification reactor were obtained based on the simulation results. Copyright (C) 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.