Energy, Exergy, and Economic Analysis of Cryogenic Distillation and Chemical Scrubbing for Biogas Upgrading and Hydrogen Production

Esfandiyar Naeiji, Alireza Noorpoor and Hossein Ghanavati
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Esfandiyar Naeiji: School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 1417853111, Iran
Alireza Noorpoor: School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 1417853111, Iran
Hossein Ghanavati: Department of Microbial Biotechnology, Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII), Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Organization (AREEO), Karaj 3135933151, Iran

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-23

Abstract: Biogas is one of the most important sources of renewable energy and hydrogen production, which needs upgrading to be functional. In this study, two methods of biogas upgrading from organic parts of municipal waste were investigated. For biogas upgrading, this article used a 3E analysis and simulated cryogenic separation and chemical scrubbing. The primary goal was to compare thermoeconomic indices and create hydrogen by reforming biomethane. The exergy analysis revealed that the compressor of the refrigerant and recovery column of MEA contributed the most exergy loss in the cryogenic separation and chemical scrubbing. The total exergy efficiency of cryogenic separation and chemical scrubbing was 85% and 84%. The energy analysis revealed a 2.07% lower energy efficiency for chemical scrubbing. The capital, energy, and total annual costs of chemical absorption were 56.51, 26.33, and 54.44 percent lower than those of cryogenic separation, respectively, indicating that this technology is more economically feasible. Moreover, because the thermodynamic efficiencies of the two methods were comparable, the chemical absorption method was adopted for hydrogen production. The biomethane steam reforming was simulated, and the results indicated that this method required an energy consumption of 90.48 MJ kg H 2 . The hydrogen production intensity equaled 1.98 kmole H 2 kmole biogas via a 79.92% methane conversion.

Keywords: cryogenic separation; exergy; biogas upgrading; hydrogen; chemical absorption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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