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Hydrogen Power Plant - for the curious Dutch
   
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     
  Sulphur  
  The sulphur leaves the residual gas installation in the form of powder or lumps and is stored in a closed silo before transport. In the chemical industry, sulphur has many uses as a raw material for various compounds. Large consumers of sulphur are found in the production of sulphuric acid and in the rubber industry, where it is used for vulcanization.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
  Fly Ash  
  The other half of the incombustible constituents is converted into fine inert particles, the so-called fly ash. These are entrained out of the gasifier along with the gas flow and then captured downstream. The fly ash is stored in closed silos and taken away by ship. Dry fly ash has many useful applications in the construction industry. Mixed with cement, for instance, it improves the mechanical properties of the cement. Use of the fly ash reduces the need for conventional raw materials and thus allows the cement industry to realize substantial energy savings.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
  Slag  
  The solid fuels also contain incombustible constituents such as sand, clay and minerals. About half of these will melt and stick to the walls of the gasifier, where they will flow down slowly into a water bath, to form glassy flakes or slag when they cool down.
The solidified slag locks up a number of impurities, present by nature in the solid fuel and protects from ever releasing them back into the environment.
The slag is stored in closed silos and transported by ship. This product has many applications in the construction industry like concrete production and road-building.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
  Composition Air  
     
  O2 21%vol  
  N2 78%vol  
  Ar, CO2, etc...  1%vol  
         
  (%vol means percent by volume)
         
         
         
     
  Composition Hydrogen - N2
         
  H2
56 to 60%vol  
  CO 3 to 4%vol  
  CO2 3 to 4%vol  
  N2 28 to 32%vol  
  H2S traces  
  H20 traces  
         
  (%vol means percent byvolume)
 

 

> Click on a step in the proces to learn more about it.
> Move the mouse over the materials to see more details
    in the left pane of the screen.

 
   
   

 

     
  Fuel  
  Type composition
(in % by weight ) of e.g. coal
 
       
  Moisture content 6 to 14 %  
  Ash content 4 to 16 %  
  C 56 to 72 %  
  H 2 to 6 %  
  O 2 to 12 %  
  N 0 to 2 %  
     
  Composition Syngas  
       
  H2 14 to 22%vol  
  CO 16 to 52%vol  
  CO2 2 to 8%vol  
  N2 0 to 8%vol  
  H2S 0,1 to 0,5%vol  
  H2O 20 to 60%vol  
       
  (%vol means percent by volume)
     
  Composition Hydrogen - CO2
 
     
  H2 52 to 54%vol  
  CO 3 to 4%vol  
  CO2 38 to 42%vol  
  N2 1 to 6%vol  
  H2S 0.2 to 0.6%vol  
  H20 0 to 0,2%vol  
       
  (%vol means percent by volume)
     
  Air emission  
         
  N2   75%vol  
  H20   11%vol  
  O2   11%vol  
  CO    1%vol  
         
  (%vol means percent by volume)
         
         

 

 

 

 

13. Transport by Ship
For decades, liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) such as butane and propane have been transported on a large scale by sea in tanker ships. Similar transport also exists for CO2, of course on a smaller scale, due to the more the limited demand.
The properties of cryogenic CO2 are not that different from those of the above mentioned gases and the same technologies may be applied. Practically, CO2 is compressed to 6 bar, and then cooled to -55 °C in a special cooling plant, which operates basically on the same principle as a refrigerator. Tankers can provide transport between the production plant and the storage location. Some space must also be arranged on the production site for temporary storage of the cryogenic CO2. The technology for the loading and offloading of such products is well known and developed.
The advantages of transport by ship compared to pipeline transport are flexibility in the destination of the CO2 and rapid deployment of the transportation route.

 
   
   
 

6. Gas purification
After the shift reactor the gas consists mainly of carbon dioxide and hydrogen. However, any sulphur present by nature in the fuel will also lead to the formation of a small quantity of H2S gas.

The gas mix flow is brought into close contact with a liquid organic solvent in a scrubber, which is in fact a tank filled with plastic balls. The solvent is dispersed from the top of the tank and flows down, covering the surface of the balls. The gas mix is injected from the bottom and flows upwards through the spaces between the balls while coming into close contact with the solvent.

The high pressure and relatively high concentrations of CO2 and H2S render these gases readily soluble in this solvent. The solvent saturated with H2S and CO2 is then collected in the bottom of the tank and evacuated to a second tank for regeneration. The gas leaving the top of the tank now contains practically no H2S and only a small quantity of carbon dioxide.

The saturated solvent first undergoes pressure reduction in the regeneration tank, such that the absorbed CO2 is released. This can be compared with the opening of a bottle of aerated water where the pressure is reduced by unscrewing the cork and the absorbed CO2 forms bubbles that escape at the top. The solvent is then free of CO2, but still saturated with H2S.

Still saturated with H2S, the solvent is then run to a third tank where it undergoes gentle heating. The H2S is hereby separated from the solvent in just the same way as air is released from water when water is heated. The H2S is then run off the top of the tank to a Claus unit which converts the H2S gas into pure sulphur and water. The solvent is then ready to be reused and is run back into the first tank where the cycle can start all over again.

As for the products from this gas purification phase, carbon dioxide is compressed for further treatment (see below) and the sulphur powder is used as a raw material in the chemical industry (e.g. for the production of sulphuric acid).

The high pressure in the entire gasification plant and the absence of nitrogen render the whole purification process highly efficient and economic in terms of energy consumption.

 
   
   
 

5. Shift Reactor
The shift reactor is a tank filled with a catalyst through which the syngas is passed. The carbon monoxide present in the syngas and the water vapor are converted into carbon dioxide and hydrogen, according to the following “shift reaction”:

CO + H2O < = > CO2 + H2 + heat

Gasification technologies with dry coal-feed to the gasifier sometimes encounter the problem of insufficient water in the syngas to allow the entire quantity of CO to be converted. In that case additional steam has to be injected into the syngas upstream.

An exceptionally large and expensive shift reactor would be necessary in order to allow 100% of the CO to be converted. A conversion rate of 95% of the CO is an economically acceptable compromise which leads to a design of two reactors in series, a high-temperature and a low-temperature reactor. This also means that the gas from the outlet of the shift reactor will still contain a small percentage of CO that later will go to the gas turbine.

This shift reaction is exothermic (releases heat). The heat is recovered in a series of heat exchangers that produce steam at reduced pressure. This steam can be sent to the steam turbine section, where it produces mechanical energy by expansion which in turn produces electricity in the generator.

 
   
   
 

4. Syngas Purification
The gas leaving the gasifier still contains fine dust particles from the incombustible constituents in the fuel, so-called fly ash and small quantities of all kinds of volatile substances, such as ammonia, that may damage the equipment downstream.
The fly ash is trapped by fine-meshed filter cartridges made of ceramic material, which can withstand the high temperatures. The trapped fly ash is sent to the collection silos by using a lock system. Fly ash has numerous useful applications in the construction industry. For example, they can be mixed with cement, in order to improve the mechanical properties of the cement, worked into concrete, etc.
The volatile constituents such as ammonia and hydrochloric acid are readily soluble in water. Together with any residual dust, they are extracted from the syngas in the scrubber, in which the gas is brought into close contact with water. The high pressure renders all the volatile constituents readily soluble in the water. Any residual fly ash is also captured.
The contaminated water is chemically and physically purified for reuse in the scrubber. The volatile substances are further treated, neutralized or eliminated so that no hazardous substance is released into the environment.

 
   
   
 

3. Gasification
The coal gasification process has been around since the early 20th Century. Historically, synthetic gas was produced for use as town gas, for the production of all kinds of chemicals and for the production of hydrogen which is a raw material in the production of ammonia (artificial fertilizer production).

There are numerous gasification technologies, but the technology applied by C.GEN, gasification with pure oxygen where fuel and oxygen are mixed flow, is the most widespread for electricity generation with CO2 capture on the basis of imported coal.

The heart of a gasification plant is the gasifier. This is a barrel with an internal pressure of 45-70 bar and with a temperature of 1 400- 1 600 °C. According to the technology, the inner walls are protected from the high temperatures either by refractory material or by water cooled pipes where the water is subsequently converted into steam.
The action of pressure and temperature triggers, the following exothermic reactions:

C + ½ O2 => CO
C + O2 => CO2
CO + H2O < = > CO2 + H2
H2 + ½ O2 => H2O

The produced synthetic gas (syngas) therefore consists mainly of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and water.
The fuel also contains other elements, such as small quantities of sulphur, nitrogen, chlorine, etc. They are converted into H2S (hydrogen sulphide), HCl (hydrochloric acid), NH3 (ammonia), etc. However, these volatile substances can be easily removed from the syngas (see below).

The solid fuels also contain incombustible constituents such as sand, clay and minerals. About half of these will melt and stick to the walls of the gasifier, then flow down slowly into a water bath where they cool down to form glassy flakes or slag. The solidified slag locks up a number of impurities present by nature in the solid fuel in its glassy structure which protects from ever releasing them back into the environment.

Besides the slag, also fine inert particles, called fly ash, are produced. This ash is entrained in the gas flow and captured downstream. Both slag and fly ash can be reused in the construction industry (concrete and cement production, road-building).

 
   
   
 

2. Oxygen Production
Ambient air, consisting of 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen and 1% other gases, is dried and purified in the air separation plant. For this process, the air is compressed to 5 bar and then cooled to around -190°C. At this temperature, oxygen becomes liquid, while the nitrogen, which has a lower boiling point, remains gaseous. The two elements can then easily be separated from each other. Afterwards, the liquid oxygen is converted back to gas in a heat-exchanger, recovering the cold/heat.

Approximately 120 t/h of oxygen and nitrogen is then brought to the right pressure with compressors. The oxygen is fed to the gasifier, while the nitrogen is used to dilute the hydrogen before combustion in the gas turbine.

 
   
   

 

 

10. Steam turbine
The steam from the HRSG, together with the steam produced in the gasification plant, is expanded in a steam turbine which drives a generator. The steam turbine generator supplies electric energy to the high voltage transmission grid.
The expanded steam from the steam turbine is condensed in a condenser which is in turn cooled by seawater. The condensate is used again and sent back to the HRSG and gasification plant.

 
   
   
  9. Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG)
The outlet gases from the gas turbine have a temperature of 600°C and still contain a large amount of energy. That energy is used in the HRSG for steam production. The steam is then sent to the steam turbine for additional electricity production.
The outlet gases from the gas turbine consist mainly of water vapor, resulting from combustion of the hydrogen, nitrogen and a small quantity of carbon dioxide.
Emissions into the air from this type of power plant are of the same order of magnitude as those from a conventional natural gas-fired CCGT, except for a much lower carbon oxide discharge.
 
   
   
 

8. Gas turbine
The hydrogen gas, with a pressure of approximately 30 bar, is diluted with nitrogen originating from the air separation installation to a fuel with a hydrogen content of around 60%. This dilution allows the mixture to be used in a slightly modified, modern and efficient F Class gas turbine. The gas turbine drives a generator that produces electricity for the high voltage transmission grid. The outlet gases from the turbine are sent to the heat recovery steam generator, which recuperates the heat present in the exhaust gas for steam production.

 

 
   
   
  7. Hydrogen Purification
Hydrogen consumers usually have high expectations with regard to the purity. A purity requirement of more than 99.9% H2 is not exceptional. In order to attain this high value, the hydrogen is passed consecutively through a number of membranes and molecular sieves that remove these impurities.
In membrane purification, the hydrogen flows under pressure through a pipe which walls made of a semi-permeable material. Most hydrogen molecules can pass through this membrane, but other molecules, like CO, CO2 and N2 are trapped and form the residual gas. However, the hydrogen gas that has passed through the membrane still contains small quantities of other gases and must be further purified.

This is done in a PSA or 'Pressure Swing Adsorption' unit. These are tanks, filled with a substance (zeolite), that allows most of the hydrogen to pass through but absorb all the other molecules on its surface. Over time, the zeolite becomes saturated and has to be regenerated. This is done by isolating the first tank and switching the gas flow to an identical second standby tank. The pressure in the first tank is then reduced which releases the impurities such as CO2, CO, and N2. These residual gas flows are sent to the gas turbine for combustion.
 
   
   
 

1. Fuel Preparation
Coal is offloaded from cape-size ships and stored locally.
A reserve of about 30 000 tons of coal, which should be enough for ten days at full capacity, is stored temporarily in covered silos on the C.GEN production site. Covered conveyor belts bring the coal from the storage to the coal preparation plant.
In the coal preparation plant, the coal is grinded and if necessary dried. From there, the coal is sent to the gasifier and transformed into syngas. The syngas is then transformed into CO2 and purified hydrogen. The hydrogen is sent to the gasturbine whereas the CO2 is prepared for transport and storage.
Given the highly efficient purification and desulphurization equipment used, very low sulphur emission levels can be expected.