Hydrogen Production from Hydrocarbon by Integration of Water−Carbon Reaction and Carbon Dioxide Removal (HyPr−RING Method)

Abstract

A new hydrogen production method, HyPr−RING (Hydrogen Production by Reaction Integrated Novel Gasification), from organic compounds has been proposed. The fundamental concept of this process is integration of the water−hydrocarbon reaction, water-gas shift reaction, and the absorption of CO2 and other pollutants in a single reactor. Hydrogen productivity from the reactions of organic material(s) with supercritical water was investigated in ranges of pressure 12−105 MPa and temperature 873−973 K by using a micro-autoclave. CO2 was absorbed by a sorbent during the reactions in the micro-autoclave. It was found that H2 and CH4 as the major product gases can be produced from lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, and several organic wastes. For example, 170 cm3 of gas with about 80% H2 and 20% CH4 was produced from 0.1 g of the subbituminous Taiheiyo coal, at 923 K. In this case, about 90% of the carbon in the Taiheiyo coal was converted to produce H2 and CH4. Some organic materials including chlorine and sulfur, such as the poly(vinyl chloride) and the sludge, also produced gases that mainly contained H2, CH4, and no chlorine or sulfur gases.