Use of Heat Pumps in the Hydrogen Production Cycle at Thermal Power Plants

Abstract

The paper considers the integration and joint operation of a methane steam reforming unit (MSRU) and a heat pump unit (HPU) at a thermal power plant (TPP) as one of the possible ways to follow the global decarbonization policy. Research methods are simulation modeling of a thermal power plant in the program “United Cycle” and analysis of thermodynamic cycles of heat pumps. The Petrozavodskaya combined heat and power plant (CHPP) was selected as the object of the research. During the research, technological schemes for hydrogen production at the Petrozavodskaya CHPP were developed: with steam extraction to MSRU from a live steam collector and with the use of production steam. A scheme for HPU integration is proposed to reduce the cost of hydrogen and to reduce waste heat. A heat pump is used to preheat natural gas before going to MSRU. A method for determining fuel costs for hydrogen production in the trigeneration cycle of a thermal power plant was developed. The minimum specific fuel consumption for hydrogen production—7.854 t ref.f./t H2—is achieved in the mode with steam extraction to MSRU from the turbine PT-60-130/13 (industrial extraction with a flow rate of 30 t/h). At this mode, the coefficient of fuel heat utilization is the highest among all modes with hydrogen production—66.18%.

Efficiency of Using Heat Pumps in a Hydrogen Production Unit at Steam-Powered Thermal Power Plants

“…The presentation of hydrogen as an equivalent product will require consideration of the operation of TPPs in the trigeneration mode, which means the creation and approval of a specialized methodology for dividing fuel costs. Attempts to develop such a technique are presented in the article [29], but they concern the production of hydrogen at thermal power plants by the method of steam reforming of methane. The issue of the need to develop a system of state incentives for hydrogen production was considered in the article [9]; however, the results refer to the technology of hydrogen production by electrolysis in the conditions of the Croatian power system.…”

“…The analysis of the possibility of implementing individual stages of the technological chains of hydrogen energy is carried out [24][25][26]. A few scientific articles develop the technical and economic basis to produce hydrogen by various methods (for example, electrolysis [27], methane pyrolysis [28], and steam reforming of methane [29]). Technical solutions are proposed for the implementation of units to produce hydrogen at existing energy facilities in the conditions of various energy systems (for example, thermal power plants with CCGT units in Tatarstan [27], hydroelectric power plant in the Magadan region [30], and nuclear power plants [20]).…”