Design of a Hydrogen Production System Considering Energy Consumption, Water Consumption, CO 2 Emissions and Cost

Juan C. González Palencia, Yuta Itoi and Mikiya Araki
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Juan C. González Palencia: Division of Mechanical Science and Technology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Gunma University, 29-1 Honcho, Ota 373-0057, Gunma, Japan
Yuta Itoi: Division of Mechanical Science and Technology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Gunma University, 29-1 Honcho, Ota 373-0057, Gunma, Japan
Mikiya Araki: Division of Mechanical Science and Technology, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Gunma University, 29-1 Honcho, Ota 373-0057, Gunma, Japan

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 21, 1-25

Abstract: CO 2 emissions associated with hydrogen production can be reduced replacing steam methane reforming with electrolysis using renewable electricity with a trade-off of increasing energy consumption, water consumption and cost. In this research, a linear programming optimization model of a hydrogen production system that considers simultaneously energy consumption, water consumption, CO 2 emissions and cost on a cradle-to-gate basis was developed. The model was used to evaluate the impact of CO 2 intensity on the optimum design of a hydrogen production system for Japan considering different stakeholders’ priorities. Hydrogen is produced using steam methane reforming and electrolysis. Electricity sources include grid, wind, solar photovoltaic, geothermal and hydro. Independent of the stakeholders’ priorities, steam methane reforming dominates hydrogen production for cradle-to-gate CO 2 intensities larger than 9 kg CO 2 /kg H 2 , while electrolysis using renewable electricity dominates for lower cradle-to-gate CO 2 intensities. Reducing the cradle-to-gate CO 2 intensity increases energy consumption, water consumption and specific cost of hydrogen production. For a cradle-to-gate CO 2 intensity of 0 kg CO 2 /kg H 2 , the specific cost of hydrogen production varies between 8.81 and 13.6 USD/kg H 2 ; higher than the specific cost of hydrogen production targeted by the Japanese government in 2030 of 30 JPY/Nm 3 , 3.19 USD/kg H 2 .

Keywords: hydrogen; hydrogen production system; Water-Energy-Carbon nexus; hydrogen economy (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: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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