Hydrogen from biomass gasification

Biomass gasification is emerging as a viable alternative to produce hydrogen for fuel cells and other applications. To evaluate the prospects of this technology for eventual commercial deployment, the Gas Technology Institute (GTI), in partnership with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI), has recently completed a techno-economic study, under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Energy. In this study, a GTI proprietary gasifier model, in combination with a Hysys simulation and design package, was used to simulate a process scheme for hydrogen production via biomass gasification. This process was envisioned to consist of several unit operations, including feedstock drying, gasification, hot gas cleanup, reforming, shift, purification, and flue gas combustion. Simulation results indicate that 99.9% purity hydrogen can be produced at the rate of 350,000 to 500,000 Nm3/day for a plant consuming 500 tonnes/day of biomass. Assuming a feedstock cost of $30 per tonne, hydrogen production costs are estimated to range from $7 - 10 per GJ compared with $5 - 7 per GJ for natural gas reforming. As technology matures, natural gas prices increase, and government incentive programs evolve, biomass gasification will present an economical way to produce hydrogen for use in PEM fuel cells and other energy consuming systems. (author)