Cliff Lowe

Hydrogen membrane development for a water gas shift reactor

Publisher Summary This chapter determines the feasibility and overall performance of a number of selected process options and produces a design package for a plant capable of meeting pre-determined CO 2 capture targets and specification. Six different process options are evaluated. Each of these processes was simulated using HYSYS software. However, the characteristics of the membrane reactor unit (and individual membrane and reactor units) were determined using a mathematical model provided by SINTEF. Based on the results from these process simulations a single process was selected which minimized the power deficit and maximized the H 2 purity while meeting the pre-selected CO 2 purity specifications. The selected process is based on an oxygen-blown autothermal reformer (ATR) and incorporates the use of discrete reaction and membrane stages rather than a single membrane reactor unit, which was considered to give flexibility in the membrane arrangement, permitting tubular or planar schemes and allowing high surface areas per unit volume. To reduce the membrane area required, a nitrogen sweep stream is added on the permeate side.