Nuclear Production of Hydrogen, Fourth Information Exchange ...

THE CONCEPT OF NUCLEAR HYDROGEN PRODUCTION BASED ON MHR-T REACTOR
Figure 2: Process flow of synthetic gas production by AMR with
the flow heating in the TCU by waste gas combustion products
1 – compressor; 2 – heater; 3,4 – absorbers; 5 – mixer; 6 – heater; 7 – catalytic reformer;
8 – exchanger; 9 – boiler; 10 – absorber; 11 – separators; 12 – receiver
Gas preparation sector
Hydrocarbon
supply
2
Gas supply
to burning
Conversion sector
6
Flue gas
release
Gas purification sector
1
3
7
9
Hightemperature
water steam
8
4
5
10
Supply
of CO2
Separation sector
12
11
Synthetic gas
Gases to
burning
The above scheme may be simplified. When utilising natural gas with production of hydrogen
methane mixture (HMM) the SMR process is accompanied by release of HMM with 48% hydrogen
content (Ponamarev-Stepnoi, 2008).
The SMR-HMM technology considerably simplifies the industrial process since it does not require
oxygen production, is implemented at much lower temperatures (at HMM production – up to 700°C),
does not require energy-intensive and cost-intensive water electrolysis and is based on process
solutions, modes and catalysts tested in heavy-tonnage chemical industry.
In contrast to the Hythane® production technology (HMM with lower hydrogen content), the
proposed HMM technology provides for production of final product not through mixture of natural gas
with pure hydrogen produced at a separate facility, but in one run through SMR that considerably
simplifies and decreases the cost of production.
The general concept of the facility was developed based on experience gained from
commercialisation of a two-stage steam-oxygen conversion process with TANDEM scheme, as well as
on experience in developing the process with VG-400 high-temperature helium reactor (Kostin, 2005;
Mitenkov, 2004; Ponamarev-Stepnoi, 2008; Stolyarevsky, 1988).
The SMR process is used to produce a hydrogen methane mixture from natural gas as fuel
decreasing energy and material costs for HMM production as compared with traditional methods.
Raw material used for production of such product is natural gas; energy carrier – flue gases of gas
combustion products. Final product is hydrogen methane mixture with 48% hydrogen content
compressed to pressure of 70 atm.
The concept provides for adiabatic steam catalytic one-stage conversion with carbon dioxide
removal through short-cycle heat-free adsorption, followed by return of a part of product fraction to
conversion. This option assumes maximum usage of initial hydrocarbon raw material to produce the
HMM.
Hydrogen production complex based on MHR-T reactor
Technical-economic parameters of the MHR-T energy-technological complex recommended as
reference design parameters are as displayed in Table 1 (Kostin, 2006; Mitenkov, 2004).
70 NUCLEAR PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN – © OECD/NEA 2010