Reformation, natural gas

Na.tura.1 Ga.s Reforma.tion. In the United States, most hydrogen is presently produced by natural gas reformation or methane—steam reforming. In this process, methane mixed with steam is typically passed over a nickel oxide catalyst at an elevated temperature. The reforming reaction is... 

Impurities can be removed by formation of a gaseous compound, as in the fire-refining of copper (qv). Sulfur is removed from the molten metal by oxidation with air and evolution of sulfur dioxide. Oxygen is then removed by reduction with C, CO, in the form of natural gas, reformed... 

Capital costs which foUow the same trend as energy consumption, can be about 1.5 to 2.0 times for partial oxidation and coal gasification, respectively, that for natural gas reforming (41). A naphtha reforming plant would cost about 15—20% more than one based on natural gas because of the requirement for hydrotreatiag faciUties and a larger front-end needed for carbon dioxide removal. 

Natural Gas Reformer Design for Ammonia Plants," Part 1, Nitrogen 166, 24—29 (1987). 

Natural gas reforming, coal gasification and water electrolysis are proven technologies for hydrogen production today and are applied at an industrial scale all over the world. These are also the most likely hydrogen production technologies to be employed until 2030 and beyond. 

For the economic evaluation, this price is compared with the costs of cheaper hydrogen production options, like natural gas reforming. With an operating time of 6750 h and a natural gas price of 2.35 ct/kWh, hydrogen costs are at 5.3 ct/kWh. This is much lower than the surplus wind pathway, if an electricity price of 4 ct/kWh is assumed. Further calculations have been performed, to show at what natural gas price natural gas reforming would reach hydrogen costs from surplus wind electricity the hydrogen price of surplus wind electricity is only reached at a natural gas price of 5.5 ct/kWh. If a carbon tax of 20/t is introduced, the necessary natural gas price is 5 ct/kWh (compare Fig. 16.10). 

Figure 16.10. Cost comparison hydrogen from surplus wind electricity and from natural gas reforming at different natural gas prices and with and without carbon taxes.

Hydrogen occurs naturally in the form of chemical compounds, most frequently in water and hydrocarbons. Hydrogen can be produced from fossil fuels, nuclear and renewable energy sources by a number of processes, such as natural gas reforming,... 

Natural gas reforming More efficient separation membranes More durable catalysts... 

H. Ide et al., "Natural Gas Reformed Fuel Cell Power Generation Systems - A Comparison of Three System Efficiencies," Proceedings of the 24th Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,... 

A typical steam reformed natural gas reformate is presented in Table 9-2. 

Table 9-2 Typical Steam Reformed Natural Gas Reformate...

Hydrogen filling station Developed three H2 filling stations (PEM electrolysis, natural gas reforming and by-product hydrogen system). 

Interaction of methane with steam on a nickel surface is the basis of the natural gas reforming process. The process is used as a source of hydrogen for ammonia production and methanol synthesis and, therefore, finds a large-scale industrial application. 

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