Natural gas upgrading through hydrogen selective membranes: Application in Carbon Free Combined Cycles

AbstractThis work examines the integration of Pd membrane-based CO2 capture technology in a hydrogen-fired Combined Cycle power plant. Four alternative configurations were investigated and sensitivity analyses were performed on the overall plant efficiency by varying parameters such as the steam to carbon ratio at the reformer and the Hydrogen Recovery Factor. The cost implications of the examined cases are presented and a comparison with an MDEA state- of-the-art case is performed. The Pd membrane technology results in a lower energy penalty than MDEA, while the avoidance cost of CO2 is strongly dependent on membrane module cost