Hydrogen Production Facilities Plant Performance and Cost Comparisons

In support of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Program, conceptual systems and cost analyses were developed by the Parsons Corporation for coal processing plants to produce hydrogen while recovering carbon dioxide (CO2) for offsite processing or sequestration. These plants had been referred to as "decarbonized fuel plants," but are now called "hydrogen fuel plants." The scope of work for this analysis entailed the following: Identifying alternative processes and technologies utilized for production of hydrogen from coal; Reviewing the technical and economic characteristics of developmental materials and technologies for separating hydrogen and oxygen from gas mixtures; Conceptualizing process plant designs that utilize developing technologies and materials, resulting in costs of product and CO2 sequestration significantly lower than with conventional approaches; Comparing the costs of a hydrogen fuel plant with plants designed to produce hydrogen from coal utilizing conventional technology; Performing sensitivity analyses on the baseline conceptual hydrogen fuel plants to determine the effect of modifying plant design on cost of product; Presenting data and results on this study at periodic conferences and workshops. An alternative plant was conceived for producing hydrogen from coal utilizing a hydrogen separation device (HSD) being developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The HSD is based on a high-temperature membrane separation concept that can be designed to selectively separate hydrogen from other gases. By utilizing the HSD, it should be possible to separate hydrogen from CO2 passively and economically. This report is a compilation of a series of letter reports issued between 1999 and 2001 to document the activity and results from this investigation. It includes the following: An establishment of a baseline plant design for hydrogen production based on the ORNL membrane concept, A comparison of this design to the conventional methods of producing hydrogen from natural gas and coal, and An evaluation of the HSD based on gasifying a mixture of Wyodak coal and biomass.