Hydrogen production within a polygeneration concept based on dual fluidized bed biomass steam gasification

Dual fluidized bed biomass steam gasification generates a high calorific, practically nitrogen-free product gas with a volumetric H2 content of about 40%. Therefore, this could be a promising route for a polygeneration concept aiming at the production of valuable gases (for example H2), electricity, and heat. In this paper, a lab-scale process chain, based on state of the art unit operations, which processed a tar-rich product gas from a commercial dual fluidized bed biomass steam gasification plant, is investigated regarding H2 production within a polygeneration concept. The lab-scale process chain employed a water gas shift step, two gas scrubbing steps, and a pressure swing adsorption step. During the investigations, a volumetric H2 concentration of 99.9% with a specific H2 production of 30 g kg−1 biomass was reached. In addition, a valuable off-gas stream with a lower heating value of 7.9 MJ m−3 was produced. Moreover, a techno-economic assessment shows the economic feasibility of such a polygeneration concept, if certain feed in tariffs for renewable electricity and H2 exist. Consequently, these results show, that the dual fluidized bed biomass steam gasification technology is a promising route for a polygeneration concept, which aims at the production of H2, electricity, and district heat.

[1]  François Maréchal,et al.  Thermo-economic optimisation of the polygeneration of synthetic natural gas (SNG), power and heat from lignocellulosic biomass by gasification and methanation , 2012 .

[2]  Guangjian Liu,et al.  Fischer–Tropsch fuels from coal and biomass: Strategic advantages of once-through (“polygeneration”) configurations , 2009 .

[3]  H. Hofbauer,et al.  Analysis of optimization potential in commercial biomass gasification plants using process simulation , 2016 .

[4]  Hui Hong,et al.  Analysis of a feasible polygeneration system for power and methanol production taking natural gas and biomass as materials , 2010 .

[5]  H. Hofbauer,et al.  Wood Gas Processing To Generate Pure Hydrogen Suitable for PEM Fuel Cells , 2014 .

[6]  Chunshan Song,et al.  Hydrogen and Syngas Production and Purification Technologies , 2010 .

[7]  Bin Chen,et al.  Proposal of a natural gas-based polygeneration system for power and methanol production , 2008 .

[8]  François Maréchal,et al.  Optimal process design for the polygeneration of SNG, power and heat by hydrothermal gasification of waste biomass: Thermo-economic process modelling and integration , 2011 .

[9]  François Maréchal,et al.  Co-production of hydrogen and electricity from lignocellulosic biomass: Process design and thermo-economic optimization , 2012 .

[10]  Minghua Wang,et al.  Energy savings by co-production: A methanol/electricity case study , 2010 .

[11]  H. Hofbauer,et al.  Fluidized Bed Steam Gasification of Solid Biomass - Performance Characteristics of an 8 MWth Combined Heat and Power Plant , 2007 .

[12]  François Maréchal,et al.  Methodology for the optimal thermo-economic, multi-objective design of thermochemical fuel production from biomass , 2009, Comput. Chem. Eng..

[13]  Hermann Hofbauer,et al.  BioSNG—process simulation and comparison with first results from a 1-MW demonstration plant , 2011 .

[14]  Hermann Hofbauer,et al.  2250-h long term operation of a water gas shift pilot plant processing tar-rich product gas from an industrial scale dual fluidized bed biomass steam gasification plant , 2016 .

[15]  C. M. Kinoshita,et al.  An experimental investigation of hydrogen production from biomass gasification , 1998 .

[16]  Anastasios I. Dounis,et al.  Polygeneration microgrids: A viable solution in remote areas for supplying power, potable water and hydrogen as transportation fuel , 2011 .

[17]  H. Hofbauer,et al.  Behavior of GCMS tar components in a water gas shift unit operated with tar-rich product gas from an industrial scale dual fluidized bed biomass steam gasification plant , 2017 .

[18]  Thane Brown,et al.  Engineering Economics and Economic Design for Process Engineers , 2006 .

[19]  Martin Kaltschmitt,et al.  Energie aus Biomasse , 2001 .

[20]  H. Hofbauer,et al.  Performance of a water gas shift pilot plant processing product gas from an industrial scale biomass steam gasification plant , 2016 .

[21]  Hermann Hofbauer,et al.  Performance improvement of dual fluidized bed gasifiers by temperature reduction: The behavior of tar species in the product gas , 2013 .

[22]  H. Hofbauer,et al.  Influence of operating conditions on the performance of biomass-based Fischer–Tropsch synthesis , 2012, Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery.