Process design of a hydrogen production plant from natural gas with CO2 capture based on a novel Ca/Cu chemical loop

Applied Energy, Volume 114, February 2014, Pages 192–208
Process design of a hydrogen production plant from natural gas with CO2 capture based on a novel Ca/Cu chemical loop
I. Martínez (a), M.C. Romano (b), J.R. Fernández (c), P. Chiesa (b), R. Murillo (a), J.C. Abanades (c)
a Instituto de Carboquímica (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Miguel Luesma Castán 4, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
b Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Energia, Via Lambruschini 4, 20156 Milano, Italy
c Instituto Nacional del Carbón (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Francisco Pintado Fe 26, 33011 Oviedo, Spain
Abstract
Provides a detailed and comprehensive design of a H₂ production plant based on an innovative Ca/Cu chemical looping process. The H₂ production process is based on the sorption-enhanced reforming concept using natural gas together with a CaO/CaCO₃ chemical loop.
A second Cu/CuO loop is incorporated to supply energy for the calcination of the CaCO₃ via the reduction of CuO with a fuel gas. A comprehensive energy integration description of the different gas streams available in the plant is provided to allow a thermodynamic assessment of the process and to highlight its advantages and drawbacks.
Carbon capture efficiencies of around 94% can be obtained with this Ca/Cu looping process, which are significantly higher than those obtained in the reference plant that uses MDEA absorption. Additional advantages, including its compact design and the use of cheaper materials compared to other commercial processes for H₂ production with CO₂ capture, confirm the potential of the Ca/Cu looping process as a pre-combustion CO₂ capture technology for H₂ production.
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