Reducing CO2 emissions
through process electrification
Hydrogen production from catalytic microwave methane reforming could
jump-start the hydrogen economy
Stephen B. Harrison
sbh4 Consulting
M
ore than 95% of the hydrogen produced is the result. Hydrogen production on electrolysers
worldwide today is derived from is growing at around 50% per year; from a low
thermolysis of fossil fuels. Reforming base, this kind of growth is not surprising.
of natural gas is by far the largest source To meet the need for additional hydrogen
of hydrogen, accounting for around 80% of required to support the decarbonisation of
hydrogen production. In this category, steam industry, transportation and the energy sector,
methane reformers (SMRs) lead the way, and auto hydrogen production from fossil fuels, such as
thermal reformers (ATRs) play a supporting role. natural gas, is also likely to see growth in future
Gasification of coal and petcoke is the second decades. When combined with carbon capture
largest hydrogen production pathway. POX, or and utilisation or storage (CCUS), low-carbon
partial oxidation of natural gas, a process that hydrogen, or ‘blue’ hydrogen, is the result.
is like gasification, is also a significant thermal In a paradigm shift away from conventional
process to produce hydrogen. reforming processes and post-combustion CCUS,
Electrolysers are being built at an increasing Nu:ionic, a start-up based in Atlantic Canada,
pace and on an ever-larger scale. When fed with has a new take on hydrogen production. Their
renewable electricity from sources such as wind, process uses catalytic microwave reforming of
hydropower or PV solar panels, ‘green’ hydrogen methane to generate hydrogen. Only one-quarter
SMR ATR POX
Air
Oxygen Oxygen
Fuel
Feedstock
& steam Feedstock Feedstock
& steam
Flue gas
Syngas Syngas Syngas
Notes:
1. In the SMR the air/fuel combustion reaction takes place in a separate part of the process to the reforming reaction.
2. SMR may alternatively be side-fired or upwards fired 3. Shaded area denotes catalyst bed.
Figure 1 SMR, ATR and POX processes for syngas production
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of the electrical power that an electrolyser would In regions where natural gas is abundant, and
consume is required. Methane consumption is CCUS is possible, this natural-gas intensive
reduced by about 30% compared to conventional process for hydrogen production can be viable.
reforming techniques. The result is low-cost, low- The South Eastern United States or the West
carbon hydrogen. coast of Norway are two example locations that
would fit these conditions. The emergence of
Gas-fired steam methane reforming, with CO2 abundant, low-cost renewable power from super-
emissions from the combustion heating scale, ideally located onshore and offshore wind
An SMR is fed with methane from natural gas or farms and GW scale solar parks allows for the use
biomethane and steam. The reaction proceeds of electricity in new ways to reduce our reliance
inside an array of vertical tubes filled with a nickel- on fossil energy sources.
based catalyst to produce syngas, which is around
70% hydrogen and 30% carbon monoxide. To Microwave catalytic reforming – CO2 emissions
drive the reaction kinetics, heat energy must be reduction through electrification
applied at a high temperature. This is achieved by Microwave energy is produced from electricity
burning natural gas in the air to heat the outside and is used in our homes to heat food. Radio
of the reactor tubes. Approximately 75% of the communications masts also transmit information
natural gas flows through the reactor, and the using microwave frequencies. Industrial
balance of 25% is fired in the burners. microwaves are used for drying pharmaceutical
Subsequent catalytic reactors are used to combine powders, cereal grains and timber. Microwaves
more steam with the carbon monoxide in the are now also being used to provide the energy to
syngas to produce carbon dioxide and hydrogen. drive steam methane reformers.
The components of this stream are then separated Jan Boshoff is the CEO of Nu:ionic Technologies,
on a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) unit to a company based in New Brunswick in Eastern
generate pure hydrogen and ‘tail gas’. The tail Canada. Boshoff says that “using microwaves from
gas contains carbon dioxide, unreacted methane renewable power instead of burning natural gas or
and residual quantities of carbon monoxide, in biomethane to create the energy required for the
addition to some hydrogen. These energy gases are reforming reaction can reduce gas consumption
combined with fresh methane to fire the burners. by 25-30%. It also reduces the fossil fuel footprint
The burner flue gas is rich in carbon dioxide and can by a similar amount. By eliminating the fired
be processed using an amine wash or other suitable heater, which is the most polluting part of steam
carbon capture system. methane reforming, through electrification we are
AEC AEM PEM Air SOE H2
O2 + – H2 O2 + – H2 O2 + – H2 plus O2 + – (plus CO)
OH - OH - H+ O2 -
30% KOH(aq)
30% KOH(aq)
Diaphragm
Membrane
Membrane
Electrolyte
1% KOH(aq)
Cathode
Cathode
Cathode
Cathode
Anode
Anode
Anode
Anode
H2O H2O H2O Air H2O as water
as water as water as water (plus CO2)
Notes:
1.In the AEC, AEM and PEM, lye or water flow from the electrolyser cell with the oxygen and/or hydrogen gases. Those liquids are mixed and
recirculated to the electrolyser.
2. Air is used to purge the SOE anode to avoid oxygen accumulation which may present a hazard at the high operating temperature.
3. Bipolar plates made of stainless steel (titanium for PEM) are used to stack adjacent cells in each electrolyser type.
Figure 2 Electrolysers: AEC, AEM, PEM and SOE for hydrogen (and syngas) production
50 www.decarbonisationtechnology.com
Steam and methane Steam and methane Steam and methane
Catalyst bed
Catalyst
coated tubes
surrounded
by electrically
Microwave
heated coils
Notes:
Microwave
plasma would be
Notes: an alternative to
1. Combustion- dielectric microwave
heated SMR is heating and
an alternative would allow lower
to electrical Syngas, ~70% H2 Syngas, ~70% H2 exit gas Syngas, ~70% H2
heating. temperature.
Figure 3 Electrical catalytic steam methane Figure 4 Dielectric microwave catalytic steam
Reforming (eSMR) methane reforming (μSMR)
reinventing gas conversion for a cleaner future.” grid. A compressor boosts the gas up to between
Nu:ionic has developed and validated steam 12 and 18 bar in a compact reforming reactor,
methane reforming based on microwave energy where the catalyst is directly heated to the
input, a form of electrical reforming. Microwave reforming temperature by microwave energy.
energy is applied directly into the reforming reactor In a conventional steam reformer, a fired heater
and penetrates deep into all the catalyst pores. is required. In that fired heater, combustion
This overcomes one of the issues with traditional superheats the stack gases to 150-300°C above
reforming where heat and temperature distribution the required process temperature. By directly
through the catalyst bed is uneven and results in heating the catalyst with the microwave, energy
reaction slow spots, meaning that lots of catalyst is efficiently applied in the exact amount required
and a very large reactor are required. by the reaction. This results in an improvement
Beyond the reduction in methane consumption, in overall system efficiency and eliminates the
the process benefits from a significantly more excess heat that is wasted in the reformer stack.
compact reforming reactor size, simpler materials After the reformer, a typical chain of shift reactors
of construction and an almost instantaneous enriches the hydrogen concentration to around
ramp rate. This means the process is ideal to be 85%. After those, Nu:ionic has introduced a further
combined with variable renewable power such innovation: an amine-wash carbon capture system,
as wind or solar. A traditional SMR takes hours which removes the carbon dioxide gas prior to
to ramp up due to the heating requirement, and hydrogen purification in a traditional PSA system.
once it is on the flexibility to turn up and down is The PSA tail gas is used to generate the steam that
very limited. is required to feed the reformer. The carbon capture
“The innovations that we have packed into our system effectively removes all the carbon dioxide
process go beyond the microwave,” says Boshoff. produced by the process, enabling low-carbon
“The catalyst must allow the microwave energy to hydrogen production and minimising the size and
freely flow through it. We do use a nickel-based cost of the PSA equipment.
catalyst because that is a readily available metal,
but the trick lies in our choice of catalyst support Jump-starting the hydrogen economy
and the way we have mounted the catalyst on It is hard to imagine what could derail the
that support.” development of the emerging hydrogen economy.
The process can be fed with low-pressure Positive sentiment and momentum related to the
natural gas or biomethane from the distribution use of hydrogen as a renewable energy vector are
www.decarbonisationtechnology.com 51
tonnes per day of hydrogen. We
have had interest from several
investors to support our growth
trajectory and we are always
open to enter into partnership and
financing discussions.”
Dry reforming, where most of the
steam that is fed to the reformer
is replaced with carbon dioxide
(CO2), is also on the radar. “We had
some encouraging results with
CO2 injection,” confirms Boshoff.
“Microwave catalytic chemistry
allows unique solutions to the
conventional challenges associated
Biogas plant with biomethane upgrade with dry reforming.”
Boshoff adds that there is further
at an all-time high. Admittedly, some applications, room for optimisation on the reactor design and
such as passenger cars, may be a mix of hydrogen operation, including sulphur-tolerant reforming
fuel cell vehicles and battery electric vehicles, and non-equilibrium operation: “But as we are
but many industrial applications will inevitably taking this one step at a time we can bring the
pull for more hydrogen to displace fossil fuels. cost and efficiency benefits associated with
Aviation and heavy transportation, for example the electrification of fired heating to market
shipping, long-distance trucks and trains, are still sooner. However, we have a robust innovation
in a dynamic zone with many possible solutions pipeline and will implement further developments
under consideration. to the technology for future generations of
The conviction to use hydrogen will stimulate the equipment.”
major infrastructure investments, such as The track record of the team at Nu:ionic
hydrogen distribution pipelines. Liquid hydrogen is remarkable. Boshoff himself was a senior
storage and distribution networks may also executive at Sasol, with responsibility for gas
emerge. However, the infrastructure is not yet in conversion to synthetic fuels processes. His co-
place. Boshoff adds that “the great thing about founder and CTO, Jim Tranquilla, has more than
the Nu:ionic hydrogen generator is that it is a small 40 years of expertise under his belt. He was the
to mid-scale plug-and-play solution for on-site CTO at Atlantic Hydrogen, where microwave
hydrogen supply.” pyrolysis was proven to be a potential means for
“All you need is water, methane, and power. turquoise hydrogen production, splitting methane
These utilities are ubiquitous today and mean to hydrogen and solid carbon.
that we can put hydrogen in the places where it “In addition to our openness for financial
is needed, even before the hydrogen transmission sponsors, we are developing strategic
and distribution infrastructure is ready. We are partnerships in biogas utilisation, hydrogen for
jump starting the hydrogen economy.” mobility as well as renewable energy storage
markets,” adds Boshoff. “For example, we could
A team on the move imagine high levels of synergy with a play that
Boshoff is keen to see his company’s technology could support us with access to the European
develop further: “We will be building a 1 tonne per market. We believe that the decarbonisation
day hydrogen reformer this year. That will have focus, biomethane availability, CCUS readiness,
a 500 kW microwave unit and will be based on and the gas/power cost mix in some regions there
our proven pilot plant in New Brunswick. Beyond will be highly compatible with our process.”
that, we intend to leverage our experience in
the development of world-scale gas-to-liquids Stephen B. Harrison
processes to scale up to plants capable of 100+ [email protected]
52 www.decarbonisationtechnology.com
