ChevronTexaco is Creating New and Better Ways for the Distributed Production of Hydrogen
Posted: 04 April 2005
For the second year in a row, ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures, a ChevronTexaco subsidiary, presented a paper based on proprietary research and development on new and better ways to increase the efficiency and reduce the cost and complexity of hydrogen generation for distributed energy stations. The paper on advanced steam methane reforming (SMR) was presented today by ChevronTexaco and technology collaborator Modine Manufacturing Company (NYSE: MOD) at the National Hydrogen Association annual conference in Washington, DC.
As a leader in the field of fuel processing, ChevronTexaco is working to develop and commercialize fuel-processing technologies that leverage existing energy infrastructures and convert a variety of feedstocks such as natural gas, into hydrogen. This is a critical step to enable the practical application of hydrogen to both transportation and distributed power generation.
In producing hydrogen from natural gas for hydrogen energy stations, ChevronTexaco and Modine are applying innovative engineering to traditional SMR technology. The Advanced SMR reactor integrates multiple reactions and heat transfer functions to increase efficiency while minimizing controls and balance of plant components. This results in a technology that produces hydrogen at a lower cost.
ChevronTexaco and Modine have jointly developed the Advanced SMR to produce hydrogen from natural gas for fuel cell vehicle applications. ChevronTexaco has led the collaboration to integrate several technology and engineering innovations. Leveraging fuel processing knowledge, ChevronTexaco designed the system with safety and efficiency in mind. The Advanced SMR system is expected to produce hydrogen at a low cost and of quality suitable for fuel cell applications.
Modine’s knowledge of heat exchange technology and manufacturing was employed to design and develop the thermal and mechanical design and to fabricate the fuel processor resulting in an efficient and manufacturable hydrogen generator. The integrating of multiple heat exchangers and multiple reactors reduces both the number of components and the processor’s cost.
To address the challenges associated with the application of catalyst to complex heat exchanger geometry, Engelhard Corporation, a surface and materials science provider, was selected to supply the projects catalyst technology expertise.
In addition to Advanced SMR, ChevronTexaco is developing a number of advanced hydrogen production technologies and applications for catalyst technology, including:
Single-step reforming (SSR): ChevronTexaco’s patented process, which was presented at last year’s NHA conference, converts natural gas and steam into near-pure hydrogen in a single-step, which is expected to reduce significantly the cost of hydrogen production.
Autothermal reforming (ATR): ChevronTexaco’s HALIAS™ fuel processor uses an ATR process in which natural gas is reacted catalytically at high temperature with oxygen and steam to produce hydrogen. The hydrogen gas produced from ATR is a mixture of hydrogen, nitrogen (from the air), carbon dioxide and small quantities of other gases. This mixture must be processed further to produce the essentially pure hydrogen required for use in fuel cell vehicles.
The recently opened Chevron Hydrogen energy station in Chino , Calif. , is the first of up to six demonstration stations to be built under a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) cost-sharing program. These stations will demonstrate and validate hydrogen technologies. The station reforms natural gas into hydrogen using the ATR process. Future hydrogen energy stations, including the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District station in Oakland , Calif. and the recently announced station with the State of Florida may incorporate different reforming technologies, including Advanced SMR and SSR.
ChevronTexaco believes that producing hydrogen on site, where it is consumed is the most practical and cost-effective approach to producing hydrogen fuel. We are acquiring the knowledge and building the capabilities needed to competitively supply hydrogen fuel to ChevronTexaco customers in the future.
Posted by Editor Pipeline Magazine
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