HYDROGEN PRODUCTION BY

THERMAL METHODS

DRISTIE KALITA
• Three general categories of hydrogen production-
a) Thermal processes
b) Electrolytic processes
c) Photolytic processes
THERMAL PROCESSES

Use the energy in resources including natural gas, coal, or biomass to

produce hydrogen

a) Natural gas reforming

b) Gasification
c) Renewable liquid fuel reforming
d) High temperature water splitting
 NATURAL GAS REFORMING
• Natural gas contains methane (CH4)
• can be used to produce hydrogen via thermal processes- steam methane reforming, partial oxidation

I) STEAM METHANE REFORMING

• high-temperature steam (700°C–1,000°C) is used to produce hydrogen from a methane source, such
as natural gas
• methane reacts with steam under 3–25 bar pr. in presence of catalyst to produce hydrogen, carbon
monoxide(CO), and small amount of carbon dioxide(CO2)

• carbon monoxide and steam are then reacted using a catalyst to produce carbon dioxide and more
hydrogen (This is called the “water-gas shift reaction”)
• Steam reforming is endothermic
• Steam-methane reforming reaction
CH4 + H2O (+ heat) → CO + 3H2

• Water-gas shift reaction

CO + H2O → CO2 + H2 (+ small amount of heat)
II) PARTIAL OXIDATION
• methane and other hydrocarbons in natural gas react with limited amt. of oxygen that is not
enough to completely oxidize the hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide and water
• With less than the stoichiometric amount of oxygen available, the reaction products contain
primarily hydrogen ,CO and a small amount of CO2 and other compounds

• Subsequently, in a water-gas shift reaction, carbon monoxide reacts with water to form
carbon dioxide and more hydrogen
• Exothermic process
• much faster than steam reforming and requires a smaller reactor vessel
• Partial oxidation of methane reaction
CH4 + ½O2 → CO + 2H2 (+ heat)
GASIFICATION
I) COAL
• Oxygen and water molecules oxidize the coal to produce a
gaseous mixture of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, water
vapour and molecular hydrogen
• carbon dioxide created as a by-product of coal gasification
can be captured and sequestered so that the process results in
near-zero greenhouse gas emissions
Coal gasification reaction :
CH0.8 + O2 + H2O → CO + CO2 + H2 + other species
II) BIOMASS

• biomass+O2 + H2O → CO + CO2 + H2 + other species

• Gasification coupled with water-gas shift is the most
widely practiced process route for biomass to H2

• biomass resources often consume carbon dioxide in

the atmosphere as part of their natural growth
processes
• producing hydrogen through biomass gasification may
release near-zero net greenhouse gases
RENEWABLE LIQUID FUEL REFORMING
• Renewable liquid fuels, such as ethanol or bio-oils made from biomass resources, can
be reformed to produce hydrogen in a distributed system
• Biomass-derived liquids can be transported more easily than their biomass feedstocks
• The liquid fuel is reacted with steam at high temperatures in presence of a catalyst to
produce a reformate gas composed of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and some carbon dioxide
• Additional hydrogen and carbon dioxide are produced by reacting the carbon monoxide
(created in the first step) with high-temperature steam in the "water-gas shift reaction“
• Finally, the hydrogen is separated out and purified
HIGH TEMPERATURE WATER SPLITTING
• Thermochemical water splitting uses high temperatures—from concentrated solar power or
from the waste heat of nuclear power reactions—and chemical reactions to produce
hydrogen and oxygen from water
• potentially low or no greenhouse gas emissions
• chemicals used in the process are reused within each cycle, creating a closed loop that
consumes only water and produces hydrogen and oxygen
• The necessary high temperatures can be generated in the following ways:
a) Concentrating sunlight onto a reactor tower using a field of mirror "heliostats“
b) Using waste heat from advanced nuclear reactors
Figure: Two mirror-based approaches for focusing sunlight on a thermochemical
reactor to produce temperatures up to 2,000°C are illustrated: (a) a field of
heliostat mirrors concentrates sunlight onto a central reactor tower; and (b) dish
mirrors focus sunlight onto an attached reactor module. The solar-generated high-
temperature heat can be used to drive thermochemical reactions that produce
hydrogen.
THANK YOU!