Coal-to-Hydrogen Mike Holmes – Deputy Associate Director for Research

Coal-to-Hydrogen

Mike Holmes – Deputy Associate Director for Research

Steve Benson – Senior Research Manager

Energy & Environmental Research Center

University of North Dakota

WebinarAugust 7, 2008

Overview

• Introduction

• Why hydrogen

• Hydrogen from coal

• Key challenges

• Bench- and pilot-scale testing

• Carbon management

National Center for Hydrogen Technology

The National Center for Hydrogen Technology (NCHT) builds on over 50 years of experience in advanced energy systems and gasification

development by the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Annual

base funding has been provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) since FY2005, along with funding from over 70 partners.

EERC Facilities in Grand Forks, North Dakota

Why Hydrogen?

Source:: DOE

It can be obtained from many domesticresources and can be clean and efficient.

Hydrogen can:• Reduce energy dependence• Reduce carbon dioxide• Create jobs

• Improve energy efficiency• Reduce pollution

Hydrogen SafetyHydrogen Safety

Hydrogen Flammability TestingHydrogen Flammability Testing

Source: Rocky Mountain Institute

Hydrogen Leak Fire Gasoline Leak Fire

Tests at Miami University• 3000 ft³/min of hydrogen was leaked from a vehicle tank and

set on fire.• An increase of only 1°–2°C on the inside of the car.• The outside vehicle temperature rose no higher than the

temperature of a car sitting in the sun.

Fuel Cell Vehicle Market Penetration (Compared to National Research Council/ National Academy of Engineering Hydrogen Report & Oak Ridge Hydrogen Report)

H2 Energy Story.XLS; Tab 'Annual Sales';IC 209 7/2 /2008

H2 Energy Story.XLS; Tab 'Annual Sales';IK 211 7/2 /2008

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070 2080 2090 2100

NRC/NAE FCVOak Ridge FCVH2 FCV

Market Share of New Car Sales

GHG: H2 ICE HEV & Battery EV

-

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070 2080 2090 2100

Greenhouse Gas Pollution (Light duty vehicles only)

(Billion/ tonnes CO2-equivalent/year)

1990 LDV GHG Level

GHG Goal: 60% below 1990 Pollution

GHG Goal: 80% below 1990 Pollution

FCV Scenario

Ethanol PHEVScenario

Gasoline PHEV ScenarioPHEVs

Base Case:Gasoline HEV

Scenario

100% GasolineICEVs

H2 ICE HEVScenario

BPEVScenario

Oil Consumption (US)

US 2030 oil production = 2.72 B bbl/yr (14.3 Quads); US 2006 non-transportation consumption = 2.25 B bbl/year (6.16 M bbl/day) [Ref: AEO 2008]

-

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

2000 2020 2040 2060 2080 2100

Oil Consumption (Billion barrels/year)

FCV, H2 ICE PHEV & BPEV

Scenarios

Gasoline PHEV ScenarioPHEVs

Ethanol PHEVScenario

Base Case:Gasoline HEV

Scenario

100% GasolineICEVs

Energy "Quasi-Independence"

U.S. Energy Consumption by Fuel Type 2005 (Source: U.S. Department of Energy Energy Information Administration)

Fuel Type Energy (quad. Btu) Percent

Coal 22.8 22.5

Natural Gas 19.8 domestic

3.8 imported

23.6 total

19.5 domestic

3.8 imported

23.3 total

Oil 13.2 domestic

26.6 imported

39.8 total

13 domestic

26.2 imported

39.2 total

TOTAL U.S. FOSSIL ENERGY CONSUMPTION

86.2 85.0

Nuclear

(no new facilities in 30 years)

8.4 8.3

Renewable

(largely hydroelectric and wood burning)

6.8 6.7

TOTAL U.S. ENERGY CONSUMPTION 101.4 100

The United States Is Poised to Support a Hydrogen Economy

• The hydrogen economy will rely on a diverse mix for the supply of hydrogen.

• Coal is a likely cornerstone for that mix, with integration of hydrogen production into coproduction of power and synthetic fuels.

• Hydrogen production from coal needs to be developed with related purification, storage, transport, and end-use technologies.

• Carbon management is a key requirement in hydrogen production from coal.

Hydrogen Production Is Not NewHydrogen Production Is Not New

• Over 9 million tons of hydrogen is produced annually in the United States today.

• Currently, the two primary hydrogen uses are for producing fertilizers and hydrocracking petroleum.

• The EERC is not reinventing the wheel; instead, we are working on efficient, reliable, clean, and cost-effective technologies for hydrogen– Hydrogen from renewable sources– Coal-to-hydrogen– Handling product impurities– Developing and demonstrating hydrogen uses– Etc.

Natural Gas to HydrogenNatural Gas to Hydrogen• For hydrogen production from natural gas to replace

even one-third of gasoline use for transportation, all of the natural gas currently used (6.9 trillion cubic feet) for the generation of electricity in the United States would be required.1

– Represents 30% of all natural gas usage.

– Resulting in the production of 46 billion kg of H2 or the equivalent of 46 billion gallons of gas.2

– In 2007, the United States consumed 142 billion gallons of finished motor gasoline.1

• Currently, 8 billion kg of H2 are produced in the United States each year, and about 95% of the hydrogen is derived from natural gas reforming.3

1. Energy Information Association (tonto.eia.doe.gov).2. Life Cycle Assessment of Hydrogen Production via Natural Gas Steam Reforming, NREL, 2001.3. U.S. Department of Energy, Fossil Energy (www.fossil.energy.gov).

Coal-to-Hydrogen OpportunityCoal-to-Hydrogen Opportunity

• Coal can be a cornerstone for the diverse hydrogen supply mix, with integration of hydrogen production into coproduction of power and synthetic fuels.

• The United States has more than one-quarter of the world’s coal reserves, with a supply that will last over 250 years at current mining rates.

• About 12% more coal would need to be mined and converted to hydrogen to serve one-third of the transportation demand.

Tremendous opportunity to increase domestic energy supply without adding transmission capacity includes hydrogen, power, advanced tactical fuels for the military, fuels for energy markets, and specialty chemicals.

Teamed with carbon management, coal-to-hydrogen technology can help meet the main goals of a hydrogen economy (energy security, environmental benefits, and economic advantages).

1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005 2010

Annular ExternallyHeated Retort

Slagging Fixed-Bed Gasifier

CatalyticGasification/SOFC

Mild Gasification

Transport ReactorDevelopment Unit

Microgasifier

Tec

hn

olo

gy

Dem

on

stra

tio

ns

Refractory and slag flowLignite properties – moisture friability

Gasification Kinetics

Coal water slurries

CABRE I – Ash behavior Entrained flow gasifiers

CABRE II – Computer model for entrained flow

gasifiers

CABRE III – Systems Engineering modeling – design of future systems

Trace elementsin gasification

Lignite Gasification – ashbehavior

Res

earc

h a

nd

Dev

elo

pm

ent

Entrained flow Slagging gasifier

Dakota GasificationSupport

Selected Gasification ActivitiesSelected Gasification Activities at the EERCat the EERC

Coal Is the Bridge to a Hydrogen EconomyCoal Is the Bridge to a Hydrogen Economy

Centralized ProductionClean Coal Gasification to Hydrogen

• Advancement of coal gasification for polyproduction of hydrogen, synthetic fuels, and power.

• Evaluate warm-gas cleanup: – Particulate and trace element control, including

mercury.– Sulfur removal to meet limits required for use of

hydrogen in refineries, chemical production, and fuel cells.

– Test methods of ammonia removal.– Test carbon dioxide separation and removal

technologies in order to produce a clean hydrogen stream and CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or sequestration.

– Test hydrogen separation materials.

Pilot-scale transport reactor (scale-up to Wilsonville, Alabama, system).

Producing economical, high-purity hydrogen from coal.

Conventional Gasification

Air

O2

Coal

Steam

AcidGas

TailGas

CO2

S

Hydrogen Electricity

PowerGeneration

Gasification

Quench Coolerand Scrubber

Water–Gas Shift(sour high temperature)

Sulfur Removal

CO2 Capture(physical scrubbing)

Pressure SwingAdsorption

Air SeparationUnit

Claus Plant

Steam

“Advanced” Gasification System

Air

O2

Coal

Electricity

Gasification

Hot-Gas Cleanupand Sulfur Removal

High-Temperature Shift

Membrane Separation

O2 Combustor

Air SeparationUnit

Mercury Capture

Hydrogen

PowerGeneration

TurbineExpander

CO2-Rich Gas

CO2 H2O

Steam

O2

Key Challenges

Air

O2

Coal

Electricity

Gasification

Hot-Gas Cleanupand Sulfur Removal

High-Temperature Shift

Membrane Separation

O2 Combustor

Air SeparationUnit

Mercury Capture

Hydrogen

PowerGeneration

TurbineExpander

CO2-Rich Gas

CO2 H2O

Steam

O2

Sulfur Removal ResultsPolishing Bed

• Achieved as low as 0.01 ppm H2S.

% R

emov

al

99%

99.9%

99.99%

99.999%

%H2S Slip for Polishing Bed Runs

0.000

0.001

0.010

0.100

1.000

Red Hills Arkansas Oak Hill Coteau

% S

lip

, Lo

g S

cale

Air O2

Freedom

Mercury ResultsMetal-Based Sorbent

• Red Hills Lignite

• 410°F

• ~95% Removal

Hydrogen Stream Characteristics

• After nearly 50 hours of operation, CO2 concentration in the permeate was nearly zero.

• Oxygen and nitrogen were present because of a leak in the sample system (a vacuum pump was used).

• About >99.9% purity of hydrogen is anticipated without a leak in the sample system.

mol% Measured Normalized Measured Normalized Measured NormalizedHydrogen 96.48 96.86 97.48 97.67 96.74 96.76Carbon Dioxide 0.69 0.69 0.54 0.54 0.07 0.07Oxygen/Argon 2.44 2.45 1.79 1.79 0.43 0.43Nitrogen 2.74 2.74Total 99.61 100.00 99.81 100.00 99.98 100.00

Real Btu (saturated) 309.52 312.10 309.20Real Btu (dry) 315.00 317.63 314.68

Ideal Specfic Gravity 0.10 0.09 0.10Real Specific Gravity 0.10 0.09 0.10Ave. Molecular Weight 2.86 2.64 2.89

Date: 6/10/2008 Date: 6/11/2008 Date: 6/13/2008

Coal-to-Hydrogen Demonstration

• Demonstrated the technical capability to produce a pure stream of hydrogen from lignite coal while maintaining gas temperature above 400°F.

• Demonstration was completed using commercial or near-commercial technologies.

• Texas lignite was gasified in the EERC’s transport reactor development unit (TRDU), and a slipstream was cleaned and purified.

Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs)

The RCSP Program represents more than 350 organizations in 41 states, three Indian nations, and four Canadian provinces.

60 GT

39 GT

3 GT

Phase II: Field Validation Tests

Opportunity for Energy Synergy

How Do We Get There (?) How Do We Get There (?) from Here (?)from Here (?)

• Technology investment• Education of society• Investment in logistics• Infrastructure development

• We need a national vision.• We need focused regional assessments and

implementation plans for the future.

Contact Information

Energy & Environmental Research CenterUniversity of North Dakota15 North 23rd Street, Stop 9018Grand Forks, North Dakota 58202-9018World Wide Web: www.undeerc.org

Michael J. HolmesDeputy Associate Director for [email protected] No. (701) 777-5276Fax No. (701) 777-5181

Steven A. BensonSenior Research [email protected] No. (701) 777-5177Fax No. (701) 777-5181