biogas membrane reformer for decentralized hydrogen production · 2016-10-23 · biogas membrane...
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BIONICO newsletter - Issue 2 – 2nd
half 2016 www.bionicoproject.eu
Biogas membrane reformer for decentralized hydrogen
production
Editorial
Dear BIONICO friends I am glad to welcome you to the second project newsletter! The
last project meeting was held at the end of August, allowing all the consortium members to
take stock of the situation: in the second six months of the project new membranes,
membrane supports and catalyst specifically designed for operating with biogas have been
tested at TU/e labs and soon new promising finger-like porous asymmetric ceramic
supports will be tested. The information collected allow now the Abengoa Hidrogeno
engineering team to start with the design of the pilot scale reactor that will contain around
100 membranes! The scale of the project represents a strong step forward for CMR
technology. Not only experimental, but also simulation work was performed by POLIMI in
order to have benchmark cases for BIONICO. At the same time environmental
performance of these technologies is being evaluated by Quantis, in order to demonstrate
not only improved efficiency performance but also environmental ones for the BIONICO
technology!
I hope you will find the info in this newsletter interesting. On our website
www.bionicoproject.eu you will find public presentations, all the public deliverables of the
project and many other interesting news. Stay tuned!
Newsletter – Issue 2 – 2nd half 2016
Previous release
March
2016
September March September March September
2017 2018
Industrial specifications
Reference case
First membrane & catalyst release
Membrane & Catalysts development
First results @ Lab scale
First release of LCA analysis
This Newsletter
BIONICO newsletter - Issue 2 – 2nd
half 2016 www.bionicoproject.eu
In this Issue:
Editorial .................................................................................................................................. 1
Latest News: Around the world to make Bionico known ......................................................... 2
Why is BIONICO? ....................................................................................................................... 3
A life with membranes .............................................................................................................. 6
BIONICO in progress ................................................................................................................. 7
Novel catalysts and supported membranes for Biogas Reforming process ........................ 7
Lab-scale reformer development .......................................................................................... 8
Life cycle assessment ............................................................................................................. 8
BIONICO second progress meeting, August 2016, Sonning Common, UK .......................... 9
Highlights ................................................................................................................................. 10
Latest News: Around the world to make Bionico known
During summer, Bionico partners travelled for thousands of kilometers to disseminate the
BIONICO projects and its achievements in this first year. Posters, presentations, leaflets
and pens were used to increase the impact of the communication. Conference attendees
showed their interest in the project, looking forward for the pilot plant in Chamusca to be
ready and running. Still 18 months to go for the pilot plant to run. In the meanwhile, you
can keep up to date about the intermediate results on www.bionicoproject.eu and in the
membrane reactor linkedin group https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8513530
BIONICO newsletter - Issue 2 – 2nd
half 2016 www.bionicoproject.eu
Why BIONICO?
In the first year of the project, two reference cases are identified to benchmark the
performance of the BIONICO concept. The first case is based on a steam-methane
reformer (SMR) reactor, while the second one on an autothermal reformer (ATR). These
two cases reflect the state of the art of hydrogen production from biogas, being the steam
methane reformer the most diffused configuration. Both cases are based on the same
layout consisting of a reforming section (either steam or autothermal reformer), two water
gas shift reactors and a pressure swing adsorption system. The systems are designed for a
hydrogen production of 100 kg/day with a purity of 4.0 (99.99%).
After defining the layout of the two selected configurations, the operating conditions are
determined to maximize the system efficiency. The main performance indexes, which are
consistent with literature data, are reported in Table 1.
Table 1 Main results for the two benchmark technologies1
Results units SMR ATR
Biogas feed Nm3/h 35.7+14.6 47.0
Total Biogas Input kW 221 207
System efficiency %LHV 59.2 55.4
Hydrogen delivery pressure bar 13.3 13.3
Equipment costs €*h/Nm3 14520 12342
Hydrogen production cost €/Nm3 0.408 0.398
The target of BIONICO is a system efficiency above 70%LHV, which is about 20% higher than
SMR. The higher efficiency together with equipment savings will end up in lower hydrogen
production costs making more competitive with respect to conventional processes.
The concept
Biogas production in EU28 is expected to enjoy a remarkable growth in the next
decades, increasing the production up to 40 Mtoe in 2020. Biogas, which mainly consists of
methane and carbon dioxide, can be upgraded to biomethane by CO2 separation.
Hydrogen production from biogas is even more complex since it can have variable gas
compositions depending on primary matter sources. In addition, traditional conversion
technologies are energy and capital intensive as several process steps are involved.
Consequently, there is a need for shifting from traditional conversion technologies to a
novel and flexible technology.
The BIONICO project proposes an integral solution throughout the whole building value
chain. By using the novel intensified reactor, direct conversion of biogas can be achieved in
a single step producing and separating pure hydrogen in situ, which results in an increase
of the overall efficiency and strong decrease of volumes and auxiliary heat management
units. This will guarantee a higher efficiency in the conversion of biogas and a higher
penetration of this fuel into the market.
1 D2.2: Definition of the reference case http://www.bionicoproject.eu/dissemination/deliverables
BIONICO newsletter - Issue 2 – 2nd
half 2016 www.bionicoproject.eu
Project objectives
The BIONICO project will develop, build and demonstrate a novel reactor concept
integrating H2 production and separation in a single vessel in a biogas production plant.
The hydrogen production capacity will be of 100 kg/day. In particular, by integrating the
separation of hydrogen in situ during the reforming reaction, the methane in the biogas
will be converted to hydrogen at a much lower temperature compared with a conventional
reforming system. The adoption of a membrane reactor (MR) can improve the conversion
efficiency due to combining the biogas conversion to hydrogen and its separation in one
single reactor. MR has advantages in terms of costs because the equipment is reduced and
also because of the lower maximum temperature: cheaper materials can be adopted.
Additionally, the reactor will be integrated with an advanced control system such that the
flexibility of the system towards several parameters (temperature, pressure, flow rates,
etc.) is improved. Dedicated tests with different biogas compositions will be carried out to
show the flexibility of the process with respect to feedstock types.
P-1
H2Oreaction
air+H2Oreaction
CMPNG
Retentate
Exhaust
waterrec.
H2
EUNG
CMPair
AirATR
Sep
ATR-MR
Sep
Burner
HX-4HX-2
Airbrn
HX-0
HX-1
Vac.P.
Figure 1 Schematic BIONICO layout
Compared with any other MR projects in the past, BIONICO will demonstrate the MR at
a much larger scale, so that more than 100 membranes will be implemented in a fluidized
bed MR, making BIONICO’s concept a real demonstration unit, paving the way towards a
market exploitation of the reactor concept.
BIONICO newsletter - Issue 2 – 2nd
half 2016 www.bionicoproject.eu
Partnership
In order to achieve maximum impacts
on the European industry, the BIONICO
consortium gathers 8 organisations from 7
countries including top level European
Research Institutes, Universities (3 RES) and
representative top industries (1 SME and 3
IND) in different sectors. The consortium
brings together multidisciplinary expertise
of catalysts synthesis, membranes
development, chemical and process
engineering development and construction
of turn-key solution in the energy sector
including operation and maintenance (i.e.
biogas recovery plants design, other energy
plants), modelling and simulation, LCA and
industrial risk study.
Project structure
The project scheduled work plan includes activities related to the whole system design,
construction and prototype demonstration. It is broken down in nine work packages
covering three years of work following the focus of the development of a flexible biogas
gas membrane reformer to provide pure hydrogen. BIONICO also takes advantage of the
previous FP7/JU projects carried out by the partners, thus the technical work packages are
limited and focused to the optimization and scale up production of the components for the
final membrane reformer.
BIONICO newsletter - Issue 2 – 2nd
half 2016 www.bionicoproject.eu
A life with membranes
by Ekain Fernandez
My name is Ekain and I’m researcher at the Membrane Technology
department at TECNALIA (San Sebastian, Spain). Within BIONICO project
I’m developing thin Pd-based membranes for their use in membrane
reactors for biogas reforming and also leading the Work Package of
Membranes.
When I finished my chemical engineering degree at the Engineering School at Bilbao, I
obtained a grant for working on membranes at TECNALIA (former INASMET-TECNALIA). It
has been nine years since that time and I learned a lot from many people and different
experiences.
In the beginning, I started preparing few amount of very short tubular Pd-based supported
membranes of max. 5-10 cm long. After being involved in some European projects
(DEMCAMER, REFORCELL, FERRET, FLUIDCELL), now in BIONICO project our objective is to
manufacture more than 100 membranes of 50 cm length together with RAUSCHERT that
will provide the supports. This means a quantum leap in the scale up and Technology
Readiness Level of the membranes. In that initial period, I also worked on polymeric
membrane preparation for a short time and learned the fundamentals on membranes for
gas separation (e.g. transport phenomena).
Almost 5 years ago, a big change in my career occurred: I started my PhD on palladium
membranes for membrane reactors at TU/e that I have defended this June under the
supervision of Prof. Martin van Sint Annaland and Dr. Fausto Gallucci from TU/e and Dr.
Alfredo Pacheco Tanaka from TECNALIA. The nice collaboration that we have had with TU/e
during the last years has been essential for my growth on this topic and on improving my
skills on research and project management.
After many efforts and collaborations with other project partners we have scaled up the
membranes and improved the sealing for their use in membrane reactors for hydrogen
production. In these years we moved from fundamental research to applied research with
the aim of introducing the palladium membrane technology into the market.
During this years and trip, I learned to take special care at small details since we are
targeting almost pure hydrogen at very high fluxes. In addition, other aspects that in the
beginning seemed less important turned crucial. For example, a key issue for integrating
these membranes in reactors is the sealing as Niek de Nooijer already explained very well
in the BIONICO’s 1st newsletter.
After these years, I believe that the collaboration is the key point for the success in any
discipline. Thus, we are open to collaborate with new partners for bringing the membrane
technology closer to the market and fulfill industrial needs.
BIONICO newsletter - Issue 2 – 2nd
half 2016 www.bionicoproject.eu
BIONICO in progress
The latest news on the different WP activities are reported:
Novel catalyst and supported membranes for Biogas Reforming
process
JM are developing novel, highly active reforming catalysts designed to convert biogas
into syngas. To improve reactor performance at the relatively low temperatures used in the
system, a catalyst has been developed which can operate under dry, steam or autothermal
reforming conditions. Catalyst interaction with the membrane reactor tubes has been
investigated by TU/e and reaction kinetic information by AH.
RAUSCHERT is developing new finger-like porous asymmetric ceramic supports in which
one of the ends of the tube is a closed porous part. In this sense, only one seal based on
Swagelok-graphite will be needed compared to the two seals needed for conventional both
open-end tubular supported Pd-based membranes for their integration in the reactor.
Thus, the probability for leaks through seals will be reduced as well as the cost of one
Swagelok will be saved. Thin Pd-Ag layers have been deposited at TECNALIA onto the first
50 cm long finger-like supports (see Figure 2). The stability of the finger-like supported
membranes will be evaluated at TU/e under the operating conditions (fluidization regime,
temperature, etc.).
BIONICO newsletter - Issue 2 – 2nd
half 2016 www.bionicoproject.eu
Figure 2 Ceramic supported (finger-like) Pd-Ag membranes (length: 50 cm long, 14/7 mm
outer/inner diameter).
Lab-scale reformer development
TUE is testing the stability and performance of the membranes and catalyst delivered by
TECNALIA and JM. The membranes are tested in pure gas conditions such as nitrogen,
hydrogen and mixtures containing CO or H2S. After these test the membranes are
immersed in a fluidized bed containing the catalyst of JM. The membrane in contact with
the catalyst shows stable performance regarding the hydrogen permeance. However the
fluidization results in a decrease of selectivity due to the increase of leakage. The next goal
is to identify the critical points of operation for this increase in leakage. Knowing this
critical point will allow for better selection of the operation conditions to ensure a longer
durability of the membranes. In parallel the catalyst reaction kinetics are being obtained to
include in the model, which will later can describe the lab scale reactor.
Life cycle assessment
Quantis has refined goal & scope of this studies, in particularly, with further
clarifications with regard to reference systems, level of details of inventory modelling and
system boundaries, i.e., cradle to gate, as shown in Figure 3. Furthermore, data collection is
improved for key data points, such as biogas input, conversion efficiency, energy and water
use related to conversion processes.
Figure 3 Life cycle assessment modelling and system boundaries.
BIONICO newsletter - Issue 2 – 2nd
half 2016 www.bionicoproject.eu
The first preliminary LCA results demonstrated that the BIONICO CMR technology might
be potentially environmentally preferable than reference technology systems (i.e., SMR and
ATR for all indicators (climate change, human health, water use, resources and ecosystem
quality) under conditions examined in this study; however, the conclusion and validity
need to be further examined under refined data quality, assumptions and scenarios.
BIONICO second progress meeting, August 2016, Sonning
Common, UK
The second progress meeting of BIONICO was hosted by Johnson Matthey research
head quarter in Sonning Common. The partners presented the advancement status on
each work package and discussed aspects regarding coordination and distribution of short
term tasks. The assembly was decisive for the agreement on following dissemination
strategies and activities to implement during the next months.
BIONICO newsletter - Issue 2 – 2nd
half 2016 www.bionicoproject.eu
Highlights
Workshop on Membrane Reactors: SAVE THE DATE!
On 9 and 10 March 2017, the Third European Workshop
on Membrane Reactors will be held in Italy. The first
workshop was organised back in November 2012 (Italy) and
was entitled “Pd-based membranes and reactor scale-up”. The
second workshop, “Catalytic Membrane Reactors: what’s next”
was held in April 2015 in the Netherlands. More information
on these two events is available from the CARENA website.
This third one is jointly organised by ROMEO, MEMERE,
Fluidcell, Bionico, and Ferret, 5 major European projects on
membrane reactors.
During these two days, there will be presentations on fundamental membrane-related
science, process design and applications, industrial applications. There will also be a poster
session and a company visit. More information will be provided on our website so watch
that space and save the date for what promises to be a very fruitful workshop!
Just like ROMEO, MEMERE is a EU Horizon 2020 - SPIRE-05-2015 project. Bionico is a EU
Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme Hydrogen Europe and N.ERGHY.
Fluidcell and Ferret are projects supported by the European Union’s Seventh Framework
Programme for the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Technology Initiative.
Dissemination activities, publications and presentations:
BIONICO public presentation available on the website
http://www.bionicoproject.eu/dissemination/presentations
M. Binotti, G. Di Marcoberardino, G. Manzolini, F. Gallucci, N. Ibanez Lirio, Biogas
membrane reformer for decentralized H2 production, European Biogas Association
Conference (EBA 2016), 27-29 September 2016, Ghent, Belgium.
G. Di Marcoberardino, M. Binotti, G. Manzolini, J. L. Viviente, F. Gallucci, L. Roses, N.
Ibanez Lirio, Achievements of EU projects on membrane reactor for hydrogen
production, 11th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and
Environment Systems (SDEWES 2016), 4-9 September 2016, Lisbon, Portugal.
D.A. Pacheco Tanaka, E. Fernandez, J. Melendez, A. Arratibel, A. Helmi, J.A. Medrano, N.
Nooijer, K. Coenen, V. Spallina, J.L. Viviente, J. Zuñiga, M. van Sint Annaland, F. Gallucci,
Fluidized bed membrane reactors for hydrogen production using thin Pd-based (< 5
μm) supported membranes, 14th International Conference on Inorganic Membranes
(ICIM 2016), 10-13 July 2016, Atlanta, USA.
N.C.A. de Nooijer, J. Melendez, K. Coenen, E. Fernandez, F. Gallucci, M. van Sint
Annaland, P.L. Arias, D.A. Pacheco Tanaka, Effect of the addition of Au in Pd-Ag alloy
BIONICO newsletter - Issue 2 – 2nd
half 2016 www.bionicoproject.eu
membranes on the hydrogen permeation performance under the presence of H2S,
14th International Conference on Inorganic Membranes (ICIM 2016), 10-13 July 2016,
Atlanta, USA.
J. Meléndez, D. A. Pacheco Tanaka, A. Arratibel, N. de Nooijer, E. Fernandez, M. van Sint
Annaland, P. L. Arias, F. Gallucci, Preparation and characterization of thin Pd-Ag-Au
supported membranes for hydrogen separation, European Membrane Society Summer
School on "Membranes and Membrane Processes Design”, 26 June – 1 July 2016,
Bertinoro, Italy.
N.C.A. de Nooijer, J. Melendez, E. Fernandez, D.A. Pacheco Tanaka, M. van Sint
Annaland, F. Gallucci, Steam reforming of biogas in a fluidized bed membrane reactor
for pure hydrogen production, Dutch membrane society Jubilieum posterday, June
2016, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands.
E. Fernandez, A. Helmi, J. A. Medrano, K. Coenen, A. Arratibel, J. Melendez, N. de
Nooijer, V. Spallina, J. L. Viviente, J. Zuñiga, M. van Sint Annaland, D.A. Pacheco Tanaka,
F. Gallucci, Palladium based membranes and membrane reactors for hydrogen
production and purification, 21st World Hydrogen Energy Conference (WHEC 2016), 13-
16 June 2016, Zaragoza, Spain.
M. Binotti, G. Di Marcoberardino, Biogas membrane reformer for decentralized H2
production, 21st World Hydrogen Energy Conference (WHEC 2016), 13-16 June 2016,
Zaragoza, Spain.
A picture from the WHEC conference in Zaragoza
BIONICO newsletter - Issue 2 – 2nd
half 2016 www.bionicoproject.eu
Upcoming events:
18 – 20 October 2016 9th EFIB, The European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology and
the Bioeconomy, Glasgow, Scotland
http://www.efibforum.com/
2 – 3 November 2016 16th Aachener Membran Kolloquium, Aachen, Germany
http://www.avt.rwth-aachen.de/AMK/
5 – 8 December 2016 9th IMSTEC, International Membrane Science and Technology
Conference, Adelaide Convention Centre, Australia
http://www.imstec.com.au/
29 – 30 December 2016 18th ICCB 2016, International Conference on Biofuels and
Bioenergy, Paris, France
https://www.waset.org/conference/2016/12/paris/ICBB/home
31 January – 2 February 2017
7th International Conference on ”Fundamentals & Development
of Fuel Cells, Stuttgart, Germany
http://www.nerghy.eu/
24 February 2017 Biogas Italy 2017, Rome, Italy
http://www.biogasitaly.com/
10 – 11 May 2017 4th REGATEC 2017, International Conference on Renewable
Energy Gas Technology, Italy
http://regatec.org/
12 – 15 June 2017 25th EUBCE 2017, European Biomass Conference & Exhibition,
Stockholm, Sweden
http://www.eubce.com/home.html
2 – 5 July 2017 7th WHTC World Hydrogen Technologies Convention, Prague,
Czech Republic
http://www.whtcprague2017.cz/
10 – 13 July 2017 13th ICCMR, International Conference on Catalysis in Membrane
Reactors, Houston, USA
http://iccmr.tamu.edu/
BIONICO newsletter - Issue 2 – 2nd
half 2016 www.bionicoproject.eu
More information on BIONICO available at the project website:
http://www.bionicoproject.eu
Acknowledgements:
The BIONICO project has received funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint
Undertaking under grant agreement No 671459. This Joint Undertaking receives support
from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and Italy,
Spain, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal, Switzerland.
Disclosure: The present document reflects only the author’s views, and neither the FCH-
JU nor the European Union is liable for any use that may be made of the information
contained therein.
BIONICO in figures:
8 partners (3 RES, 3 IND, 2 SME)
7 countries
3.4 M€ project
Start September 2015
Duration: 36 months
Key Milestones:
February 2017 – Validation of lab-scale reactor
December 2017 – Pilot scale prototype ready
February 2018 – System integrated at biogas
producer facility
September 2018 – Validation of the pilot plant
Project manager:
Dr. Marco Binotti
Politecnico di Milano
Technical manager:
Dr. Fausto Gallucci
TU/e
Dissemination manager:
Dr. Gioele Di Marcoberardino
Politecnico di Milano
Exploitation manager:
Dr. Noelia Ibáñez Lirio
Abengoa Idrogeno
www.bionicoproject.eu BIONICO brochure
Biogas membrane reformer for decentralized hydrogen
production
Summary: The BIONICO project will develop, build and demonstrate a
novel reactor concept integrating H2 production and
separation in a single vessel in a biogas production plant. The
hydrogen production capacity will be of 100 kg/day. By using
the novel intensified reactor, direct conversion of biogas to
pure hydrogen is achieved in a single step, which results in an
increase of the overall efficiency and strong decrease of
volumes and auxiliary heat management units.
A membrane assisted fluidized bed reactor for biogas
reforming will be designed and tested. Novel high flux
membranes supplied and novel catalysts will be assembled in
the reactor: particular attention will be devoted to the design
in order to avoid problems due to membrane vibration and
to improve the bubble breckage and thus reduce fuel slip
through the bubble phase. The control of the reformer will be
developed as integral part of the reactor, to achieve full
flexibility of the system. The experimental work carried out
on the reactor will also validate the models to be used for the
scale-up of the system. Finally, the final prototype of
membrane reactor will be designed, constructed and tested
in a facility where biogas is produced.
Contact: Dr. Marco Binotti
Politecnico di Milano