Rodrigo Rivera-Tinoco

On the possibilities of producing hydrogen by high temperature electrolysis of water steam supplied from biomass or waste incineration units.

The incineration of biomass and waste is considered to produce water steam, which then would feed the High Temperature Electrolysis (HTE) process in order to produce hydrogen. For these energy sources, in a French context, results show that water steam production cost could be in a range of 0.02 to 0.06 euros per steam kilogram. Potentially 78 million vehicles could be fed with hydrogen coming from the steam produced by the incineration of the currently nonvalorised biomass and domestic waste. Furthermore, for each energy source the optimized hydrogen production cost estimation has been performed, including investment and operation costs.

Hydrogen production by high temperature electrolysis coupled with an EPR, SFR or HTR: techno-economic study and coupling possibilities

Hydrogen production by high temperature electrolysis coupled with three nuclear reactors (the European pressurised reactor, the sodium-cooled fast reactor and the very high temperature reactor) was studied in terms of perspectives and hydrogen production costs. Firstly, we present the features of producing water steam by using the three nuclear reactors. Secondly, we present the hydrogen production cost for the HTE process coupled with each type of nuclear reactor. These costs are optimal values of the hydrogen production cost for the mentioned couplings and they were estimated by using a genetic algorithm procedure. High potentiality for these HTE couplings was assessed and contrary to steam source temperatures, the electricity price appeared to be a key parameter for low hydrogen production costs.

Taking into Account Environmental Criteria in the Design of a Process: Application to Steam Methane Reforming by Performing a Multi-Objective Techno-Economic Optimisation of the System

In the current context of sustainable development, industrial process development should no longer only take economic goals into account. Environmental criteria should be considered as well. Therefore, multi-objective optimisations should be carried out. A techno-economic model of steam methane reforming was implemented through the use of genetic algorithms. Different criteria can be then simultaneously considered. The optimisation result represents one objective versus the other: the hydrogen production cost and the carbon dioxide emissions of the process. This allows making compromises between the objectives. These compromises can be led either by regulations or by an overcost linked to taxes, for example.

Influence of Cell Support and Operating Parameters on the Competitiveness of High-Temperature Electrolysis Process

This work focuses on hydrogen production by high-temperature electrolysis and the influence of operating parameters for cathode- or electrolyte-supported cells, used to build the electrolyzer, on the process competitiveness. The rigorous modeling of the electrical and thermal behavior of planar cells was performed and integrated into our program to estimate the hydrogen production cost, accounting process investment, and operation costs. Results show that the exothermal mode seems more competitive than the endothermal mode. Electrolyte-supported cells could allow lower degradation of cells at lower current densities, which would drive down the hydrogen production cost.