Production of Hydrogen by Steam Methane Reformation Process

Abstract

Upcoming hydrogen economy is on rise on political agenda due to growing need of hydrogen. Natural occurrence of hydrogen cannot satisfy the present need of hydrogen. It produces a wide gap between current hydrogen requirement and amount of hydrogen present in earth. To counter this problem, hydrogen is produced commercially in industries through various methods. Among all these methods, SMR (Steam Methane Reforming) process is considered most feasible for being economically cheap as compared to other methods. Being economical does not necessarily mean being eco-friendly. Industrialist does not switch on alternative methods and continue using SMR process which is producing a devastating impact on atmosphere by increasing the amount of CO2 (carbon dioxide). Greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide makes it one of the primary sources of increasing global warming in earth's atmosphere. Apart of other uses, Hydrogen can also be used as eco-friendly energy source as compared to fossil fuel used as energy source. In this paper, the procedure of production of hydrogen through SMR process is reviewed in detail and its pros and cons are discussed.

The production of hydrogen through microwave-initiated catalytic dehydrogenation of model hydrocarbon compounds on Fe/AC catalyst without significant CO2 emissions

“…Currently, the steam reforming of methane (SMR), which is the main constituent of natural gas, is the most frequently applied process and cheapest source of industrial hydrogen that generates nearly 50% of global hydrogen production [1][2][3][4]. In the process of steam reforming in a hydrogen plant, the gas is heated between 700-1000 °C and reacted with steam under 3-25 bar in the presence of nickel (Ni) catalysts [5][6][7][8][9]. Although the technology is well-established and offers high hydrogen yield, still there are downsides and limitations including the release of significant levels of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, harsh reaction conditions, catalyst deactivation, and excessive energy input [2,10,11].…”

Transport of Steam-Gas Mixture in Hydrodynamic Devices: A Numerical Study of Steam Reforming of Methane

“…When heating a gas mixture, apart from the energy required for the dissociation of the initial molecules, there is a need for energy input to heat other components of the reactant gas mixture, including the chemical reactor's enclosure. Additionally, it is important to consider that as the number of atoms in the molecules rises, the energy utilization coefficient decreases due to the increased heat capacity of the reacting components [5][6][7][8].…”