ATR-Based Blue Hydrogen Solutions: Technip Energies and Casale Partner
Here’s an article posted in Business Wire
According to the article,
- Co-licensing: Technip Energies and Casale will be co-licensors of the technology, offering Process Design Package (PDP), proprietary equipment, and entire plants
- Carbon Capture: The ATR-based solution could achieve up to 99% carbon capture rate, helping to decarbonize hydrogen facilities
Additional details related to this post:
Autothermal reforming (ATR) is a process used in the production of hydrogen, particularly in the context of blue hydrogen production. Blue hydrogen is generated from natural gas through a process that captures and stores the carbon emissions, thus reducing its environmental impact compared to traditional grey hydrogen production methods.
Here’s how autothermal reforming works:
Feedstock Preparation: Initially, a hydrocarbon feedstock such as natural gas is prepared for the reforming process. This feedstock typically contains methane (CH4) as the primary component.
Catalytic Reaction: The prepared feedstock is then introduced into a reformer reactor containing a catalyst bed. In autothermal reforming, both partial oxidation and steam reforming reactions occur simultaneously. Partial oxidation involves reacting the hydrocarbons with oxygen (from air or pure oxygen) to produce carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2), while steam reforming involves reacting the hydrocarbons with steam to produce additional hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2).
Controlled Combustion: A controlled amount of oxygen is added to the reactor to facilitate the partial oxidation reaction. This controlled combustion provides the necessary heat for the endothermic steam reforming reaction to take place alongside it, hence the term “autothermal.”
Heat Exchange: The heat generated from the partial oxidation reaction is utilized to drive the steam reforming reaction, maintaining the required temperature within the reactor.
Product Separation: The resulting gas mixture, which primarily consists of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and residual methane, is then passed through a series of separation units to isolate the desired hydrogen product from the other gases.
Autothermal reforming offers several advantages in blue hydrogen production:
Efficiency: By combining partial oxidation and steam reforming in a single reactor, ATR maximizes the efficiency of hydrogen production from the feedstock.
Process Integration: The integration of combustion and reforming processes within the same reactor simplifies the overall production setup and reduces the footprint of the hydrogen production plant.
Flexibility: ATR can handle a wide range of feedstocks, including natural gas, biogas, and other hydrocarbon sources, providing flexibility in feedstock selection based on availability and cost.
Carbon Capture Integration: ATR facilitates the integration of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, enabling the capture and storage of carbon emissions produced during the reforming process, thereby resulting in the production of blue hydrogen.
Some of the interesting questions we have regarding this stuff:
How does autothermal reforming (ATR) technology differ from traditional methods in terms of cost-effectiveness and carbon capture capabilities?
What specific challenges does Technip Energies aim to address in the blue hydrogen market through their partnership with Casale?
Given the global push towards decarbonization, what role could the advanced solutions from Technip Energies and Casale play in the broader energy transition strategy?
Interestingly, we have some other posts related to this content:
Air Liquide’s Autothermal Reforming Technology Selected for Low-Carbon Hydrogen and Ammonia Production in Japan: ATR technology chosen for low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia production in Japan’s pilot project, with Air Liquide Engineering & Construction providing the technology. Technology for Blue Hydrogen Production – Autothermal Reforming (ATR): Autothermal Reforming (ATR) combines partial oxidation and steam reforming for efficient blue hydrogen production, running at harsher conditions than SMR for enhanced performance.
