Exergetic and Economic Improvement for a Steam Methane-Reforming Industrial Plant: Simulation Tool

Francisco Jose Durán, Fernando Dorado and Luz Sanchez-Silva
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Francisco Jose Durán: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Castilla—La Mancha, Avda. Camilo José Cela 12, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
Fernando Dorado: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Castilla—La Mancha, Avda. Camilo José Cela 12, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
Luz Sanchez-Silva: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Castilla—La Mancha, Avda. Camilo José Cela 12, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-15

Abstract: Steam methane reforming (SMR) for hydrogen production was studied by simulating the reformer and pre-reformer sections. This simulation was validated by using available data taken from a real industrial plant, which enabled precise correlations with the real industrial process to be found. Moreover, the influence of the molar ratio between the raw materials (steam-to-carbon molar ratio, S/C) and the reformer outlet temperature ( T cc ) was studied. The energy requirements for the reforming reaction increased with the S/C ratio. The energy needed for developing the reforming reaction also increased with T cc , but the hydrogen yield when operating with a high S/C ratio and T cc increased. In addition, an exergetic analysis was carried out to identify exergy losses in the SMR process, and most were destroyed in the chemical reactors. Increasing the combustion air flow was proposed for finding an optimum value for exergetic efficiency in the process, thereby reducing fuel consumption. Finally, there was a study into the economic viability of this investment, with a reduction of 22% in utility costs with the optimum exergetic value.

Keywords: steam methane reforming; simulation software; hydrogen yield; industrial plant; exergetic analysis; economic study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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