CoaltoHydrogen

1
Coal-to-Hydrogen Mike Holmes Deputy Associate
Director for Research Steve Benson Senior
Research Manager Energy Environmental Research
Center University of North Dakota
Webinar August 7, 2008
2
Overview

• Introduction
• Why hydrogen
• Hydrogen from coal
• Key challenges
• Bench- and pilot-scale testing
• Carbon management

3
National Center for Hydrogen Technology

• The National Center for Hydrogen Technology
  (NCHT) builds on over 50 years of experience in
  advanced energy systems and gasification
  development by the Energy Environmental
  Research Center (EERC) at the University of North
  Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Annual base
  funding has been provided by the U.S. Department
  of Energy (DOE) since FY2005, along with funding
  from over 70 partners.

EERC Facilities in Grand Forks, North Dakota
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Why Hydrogen?
It can be obtained from many domestic resources
and can be clean and efficient.
Source DOE

• Hydrogen can
• Reduce energy dependence
• Reduce carbon dioxide
• Create jobs

• Improve energy efficiency
• Reduce pollution

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Hydrogen Safety
Hydrogen Flammability Testing

• Tests at Miami University
• 3000 ft³/min of hydrogen was leaked from a
  vehicle tank and set on fire.
• An increase of only 12C on the inside of the
  car.
• The outside vehicle temperature rose no higher
  than the temperature of a car sitting in the sun.

Gasoline Leak Fire
Hydrogen Leak Fire
Source Rocky Mountain Institute
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Fuel Cell Vehicle Market Penetration (Compared
to National Research Council/ National Academy of
Engineering Hydrogen Report Oak Ridge Hydrogen
Report)
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GHG H2 ICE HEV Battery EV
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Oil Consumption (US)
US 2030 oil production 2.72 B bbl/yr (14.3
Quads) US 2006 non-transportation consumption
2.25 B bbl/year (6.16 M bbl/day) Ref AEO 2008
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U.S. Energy Consumption by Fuel Type 2005
(Source U.S. Department of Energy Energy
Information Administration)
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The United States Is Poised to Support a Hydrogen
Economy

• The hydrogen economy will rely on a diverse mix
  for the supply of hydrogen.
• Coal is a likely cornerstone for that mix, with
  integration of hydrogen production into
  coproduction of power and synthetic fuels.

• Hydrogen production from coal needs to be
  developed with related purification, storage,
  transport, and end-use technologies.
• Carbon management is a key requirement in
  hydrogen production from coal.

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Hydrogen Production Is Not New

• Over 9 million tons of hydrogen is produced
  annually in the United States today.
• Currently, the two primary hydrogen uses are for
  producing fertilizers and hydrocracking
  petroleum.
• The EERC is not reinventing the wheel instead,
  we are working on efficient, reliable, clean, and
  cost-effective technologies for hydrogen
• Hydrogen from renewable sources
• Coal-to-hydrogen
• Handling product impurities
• Developing and demonstrating hydrogen uses
• Etc.

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Natural Gas to Hydrogen

• For hydrogen production from natural gas to
  replace even one-third of gasoline use for
  transportation, all of the natural gas currently
  used (6.9 trillion cubic feet) for the generation
  of electricity in the United States would be
  required.1
• Represents 30 of all natural gas usage.
• Resulting in the production of 46 billion kg of
  H2 or the equivalent of 46 billion gallons of
  gas.2
• In 2007, the United States consumed 142 billion
  gallons of finished motor gasoline.1
• Currently, 8 billion kg of H2 are produced in the
  United States each year, and about 95 of the
  hydrogen is derived from natural gas reforming.3

• Energy Information Association (tonto.eia.doe.gov)
  .
• Life Cycle Assessment of Hydrogen Production via
  Natural Gas Steam Reforming, NREL, 2001.
• U.S. Department of Energy, Fossil Energy
  (www.fossil.energy.gov).

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Coal-to-Hydrogen Opportunity
Teamed with carbon management, coal-to-hydrogen
technology can help meet the main goals of a
hydrogen economy (energy security, environmental
benefits, and economic advantages).

• Coal can be a cornerstone for the diverse
  hydrogen supply mix, with integration of hydrogen
  production into coproduction of power and
  synthetic fuels.
• The United States has more than one-quarter of
  the worlds coal reserves, with a supply that
  will last over 250 years at current mining rates.
• About 12 more coal would need to be mined and
  converted to hydrogen to serve one-third of the
  transportation demand.

Tremendous opportunity to increase domestic
energy supply without adding transmission
capacity includes hydrogen, power, advanced
tactical fuels for the military, fuels for energy
markets, and specialty chemicals.
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Selected Gasification Activities at the EERC
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Coal Is the Bridge to a Hydrogen Economy
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Centralized ProductionClean Coal Gasification to
Hydrogen
Producing economical, high-purity hydrogen from
coal.

• Advancement of coal gasification for
  polyproduction of hydrogen, synthetic fuels, and
  power.
• Evaluate warm-gas cleanup
• Particulate and trace element control, including
  mercury.
• Sulfur removal to meet limits required for use of
  hydrogen in refineries, chemical production, and
  fuel cells.
• Test methods of ammonia removal.
• Test carbon dioxide separation and removal
  technologies in order to produce a clean hydrogen
  stream and CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or
  sequestration.
• Test hydrogen separation materials.

Pilot-scale transport reactor (scale-up to
Wilsonville, Alabama, system).
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Conventional Gasification
Air
Coal
O2
Air Separation Unit
Gasification
Steam
Quench Cooler and Scrubber
WaterGas Shift (sour high temperature)
Steam
Acid Gas
Sulfur Removal
Claus Plant
S
Tail Gas
CO2 Capture (physical scrubbing)
CO2
Pressure Swing Adsorption
Power Generation
Hydrogen
Electricity
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Advanced Gasification System
Air
Coal
Air Separation Unit
O2
Gasification
Steam
Hot-Gas Cleanup and Sulfur Removal
Mercury Capture
High-Temperature Shift
Membrane Separation
Hydrogen
CO2-Rich Gas
O2
O2 Combustor
Power Generation
Turbine Expander
Electricity
CO2 H2O
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Key Challenges
Air
Coal
Air Separation Unit
O2
Gasification
Steam
Hot-Gas Cleanup and Sulfur Removal
Mercury Capture
High-Temperature Shift
Membrane Separation
Hydrogen
CO2-Rich Gas
O2
O2 Combustor
Power Generation
Turbine Expander
Electricity
CO2 H2O
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Sulfur Removal ResultsPolishing Bed
99
99.9
Removal
99.99
99.999
Freedom

• Achieved as low as 0.01 ppm H2S.

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Mercury ResultsMetal-Based Sorbent

• Red Hills Lignite
• 410F
• 95 Removal

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Hydrogen Stream Characteristics
mol

• After nearly 50 hours of operation, CO2
  concentration in the permeate was nearly zero.
• Oxygen and nitrogen were present because of a
  leak in the sample system (a vacuum pump was
  used).
• About gt99.9 purity of hydrogen is anticipated
  without a leak in the sample system.

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Coal-to-Hydrogen Demonstration

• Demonstrated the technical capability to produce
  a pure stream of hydrogen from lignite coal while
  maintaining gas temperature above 400F.
• Demonstration was completed using commercial or
  near-commercial technologies.
• Texas lignite was gasified in the EERCs
  transport reactor development unit (TRDU), and a
  slipstream was cleaned and purified.

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Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs)
The RCSP Program represents more than 350
organizations in 41 states, three Indian nations,
and four Canadian provinces.
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60 GT
39 GT
3 GT
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Phase II Field Validation Tests
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Opportunity for Energy Synergy
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How Do We Get There (?) from Here (?)

• Technology investment
• Education of society
• Investment in logistics
• Infrastructure development
• We need a national vision.
• We need focused regional assessments and
  implementation plans for the future.

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Contact Information
Michael J. Holmes Deputy Associate Director for
Research mholmes_at_undeerc.org Telephone No. (701)
777-5276 Fax No. [phone]
Steven A. Benson Senior Research
Manager sbenson_at_undeerc.org Telephone No. (701)
777-5177 Fax No. [phone]
Energy Environmental Research
Center University of North Dakota 15 North 23rd
Street, Stop 9018 Grand Forks, North Dakota
58202-9018 World Wide Web www.undeerc.org