Techno-economic analysis of hydrogen production from switchgrass energy crop

Abstract

Hydrogen will play a key role in changing the current global energy paradigm, associated with the high use of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gases. This work intended to project the cost of hydrogen, produced through an energy crop, the plant of switchgrass or Panicum virgatum, using steam gasification in different scenarios, associated with the size or capacity of the plant and the existence of carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems. Therefore, it was performed a techno-economic analysis simulation using an ASPEN base model, the H2A Hydrogen Production Model Version 3.2018. The results of the techno-economic analysis simulations showed that in the scenarios containing a high (200,000 tons/year) and medium (40,000 tons/year) amount of switchgrass, the cost of hydrogen production was competitive concerning the current hydrogen prices. The results indicate that scenarios 1 and 2, which use 200,000 tons of switchgrass per year, have lower hydrogen production values, 1.22 USD/kg H2 and 1.63 USD/kg H2, respectively. Therefore, it was possible to conclude that there is a huge potential for the use of switchgrass for the production of hydrogen through steam gasification in Portugal.