Production & Supply Chain

The global emphasis on clean energy has increased interest in producing hydrogen from petroleum reservoirs through in situ combustion-based processes. While field practices have demonstrated the feasibility of co-producing hydrogen and oil the question of which offers greater economic potential oil or hydrogen remains central to ongoing discussions especially as researchers explore ways to produce hydrogen exclusively from petroleum reservoirs. This study presents the first integrated techno-economic model comparing oil and hydrogen production under varying injection strategies using CMG STARS for reservoir simulations and GoldSim for economic modeling. Key technical factors including injection compositions well configurations reservoir heterogeneity and formation damage (issues not addressed in previous studies) were analyzed for their impact on hydrogen yield and profitability. The results indicate that CO2-enriched injection strategies enhance hydrogen production but are economically constrained by the high costs of CO2 procurement and recycling. In contrast air injection although less efficient in hydrogen yield provides a more cost-effective alternative. Despite the technological promise of hydrogen oil revenue remains the dominant economic driver with hydrogen co-production facing significant economic challenges unless supported by policy incentives or advancements in gas lifting separation and storage technologies. This study highlights the economic trade-offs and strategic considerations crucial for integrating hydrogen production into conventional petroleum extraction offering valuable insights for optimizing hydrogen co-production in the context of a sustainable energy transition. Additionally while the present work focuses on oil reservoirs future research should extend the approach to natural gas and gas condensate reservoirs which may offer more favorable conditions for hydrogen generation.

The pyrolysis and oxidative steam reforming (P-OSR) of different types of plastics (HDPE PP PET and PS) has been carried out in a two reactor system provided with a conical spouted bed reactor (CSBR) and a fluidized bed reactor (FBR). The effect plastic composition has on the oxidative steam reforming step has been analyzed using two space time values (3.1 gcatalyst min gplastic − 1 and 12.5 gcatalyst min gplastic − 1 ) at a reforming temperature of 700 ◦C S/P ratio of 3 and ER of 0.2 (optimum conditions for autothermal reforming). The different composition of the plastics leads to differences in the yields and compositions of pyrolysis products and consequently in the performance of the oxidative steam reforming step. High conversions (> 97 %) have been achieved by using a space time of 12.5 gcat min gplastic − 1 with H2 production increasing as follows: PET ≪ PS < HDPE ≤ PP. A maximum H2 production of 25.5 wt% has been obtained by using PP which is lower than that obtained in the process of pyrolysis and in line conventional steam reforming (P-SR) of the same feedstock (34.8 wt%). The lowest H2 production (10.5 wt%) has been achieved when PET was used due to the high oxygen content of this plastic. The results obtained in this study prove that P-OSR performs very well with different feedstock thereby confirming the versatility and efficiency of this process to produce a hydrogen-rich gas.

The integration of renewable energy into industrial processes is crucial for reducing the carbon footprint of conventional hydrogen production. This work presents detailed design optical–thermal simulation and performance analysis of a solar parabolic dish (SPD) system for supplying high-temperature steam to a Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) plant. A 5 m diameter dish with a focal length of 3 m was designed and optimized using COMSOL Multiphysics (version 6.2) and MATLAB (version R2023a). Optical ray tracing confirmed a geometric concentration ratio of 896× effectively focusing solar irradiation onto a helical cavity receiver. Thermal–fluid simulations demonstrated the system’s capability to superheat steam to 551 ◦C at a mass flow rate of 0.0051 kg/s effectively meeting the stringent thermal requirements for SMR. The optimized SPD system with a 5 m dish diameter and 3 m focal length was designed to supply 10% of the total process heat (≈180 GJ/day). This contribution reduces natural gas consumption and leads to annual fuel savings of approximately 141000 SAR (Saudi Riyal) along with a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions. These quantitative results confirm the SPD as both a technically reliable and economically attractive solution for sustainable blue hydrogen production.

Blue hydrogen production typically achieved by combining steam methane reforming with amine-based CO2 capture is widely considered an economical route towards clean hydrogen. However it suffers from high energy demands associated with solvent regeneration. To overcome this limitation we propose a novel hybrid approach integrating steam methane reforming with membrane-based CO2 capture and O2-enriched combustion. Using process simulations we conducted comprehensive techno-economic and environmental analyses to assess critical parameters affecting the levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH) and CO2 emissions. Optimal results were obtained at an enriched oxygen level of 30% using vacuum pumping and CO2 capture via feed compression at 11 bar. This configuration achieved an LCOH of ~$1.8/kg H2 and total specific CO2 emissions of ~4.9 kg CO2/kg H2. This aligns closely with conventional blue hydrogen benchmarks with direct emissions significantly reduced to around 1 kg CO2/kg H2. Additionally sensitivity analysis showed robust economic performance despite variations in energy prices. Anticipated advancements in membrane technology could reduce the LCOH further to approximately $1.5/kg H2. Thus this hybrid membrane-based process presents a competitive and sustainable strategy supporting the achievement of the 2050 net-zero emissions goals in hydrogen production.

Electrifying heat supply in chemical processes offers a strategic pathway to reduce CO2 emissions associated with fossil fuel combustion. This study investigates the retrofit of an existing terrace-wall Steam Methane Reformer (SMR) in an ammonia plant by replacing fuel-fired burners with electric resistance heaters in the radiant section. The proposed e-REFORMER concept is applied to a real-world case producing hydrogen-rich syngas at 29000 Nm3 /h with simulation and energy analysis performed using Aspen HYSYS®. The results show that electric heating reduces total thermal input by 3.78 % lowers direct flue gas CO2 emissions by 91.56 % and improves furnace thermal efficiency from 85.6 % to 88.9 % (+3.3 %). The existing furnace design and convection heat recovery system are largely preserved maintaining process integration and plant operability. While the case study reflects a medium-scale plant the methodology applies to larger facilities and supports integration with decarbonised power grids and Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) technologies. This work advances current literature by addressing full-system integration of electrification within hydrogen and ammonia production chains offering a viable pathway to improve energy efficiency and reduce industrial emissions.

According to the international standard ISO 14687:2019 for hydrogen fuel quality the maximum allowable concentration of water in hydrogen for use in refueling stations and storage systems must not exceed 5 µmol/mol. Therefore an adsorption purification process following the electrolyzer is necessary. This study numerically investigates the adsorption of water and the corresponding water loading on zeolite 13X BFK based on the mass flows entering the adsorption column from three 5 MW electrolyzers coupled to a 15 MW offshore wind turbine. As the mass flow is influenced by wind speed a direct comparison between realistic wind speeds and adsorption loading is presented. The presented numerical discretization of the model also accounts for perturbations in wind speed and consequently mass flows. In addition adsorption isobars were measured for water on zeolite 13X BFK within the required pressure and temperature range. The measured data was utilized to fit parameters to the Langmuir–Freundlich isotherm.

Hydrogen offers a promising solution to reduce emissions in the energy sector with the growing need for decarbonisation. Despite its environmental benefits the use of hydrogen presents significant challenges in storage and transport. Many studies have focused on the different types of hydrogen production and analysed the pros and cons of each technique for different applications. This study focuses on techno-economic analysis of onsite hydrogen production through ammonia decomposition by utilising the heat from exhaust gas generated by hydrogen-fuelled gas turbines. Aspen Plus simulation software and its economic evaluation system are used. The Siemens Energy SGT-400 gas turbine’s parameters are used as the baseline for the hydrogen gas turbine in this study together with the economic parameters of the capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operating expenditure (OPEX) are considered. The levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH) is found to be 5.64 USD/kg of hydrogen which is 10.6% lower than that of the conventional method where a furnace is used to increase the temperature of ammonia. A major contribution of the LCOH comes from the ammonia feed cost up to 99%. The price of ammonia is found to be the most sensitive parameter of the contribution to LCOH. The findings of this study show that the use of ammonia decomposition via heat recovery for onsite hydrogen production with ammonic recycling is economically viable and highlight the critical need to further reduce the prices of green ammonia and blue ammonia in the future.

Hydrogen energy is key for the global green energy transition and biomass thermochemical has become an important option for green hydrogen production due to its carbon neutrality advantage. Pyrolysis is the initial step of thermochemical technologies. A systematic analysis of the mechanism of H2 production from biomass pyrolysis is significant for the subsequent optimal design of efficient biomass thermochemical H2 production technologies. Biomass is mainly composed of cellulose hemicellulose and lignin and differences in their physicochemical properties and structures directly affect the pyrolysis hydrogen production process. In this study thermogravimetry-mass spectrometry-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-MS-FTIR) was employed and fixed-bed pyrolysis experiments were conducted to systematically investigate the pyrolysis of biomass component with focusing on hydrogen production. According to the results of TG-MS-FTIR experiments hemicellulose produced hydrogen through the breaking of C-H bonds in short chains and acetyl groups as well as secondary cracking of volatiles and condensation of aromatic rings at high temperatures. Cellulose produced hydrogen through the breaking of C-H bonds in volatiles generated from sugar ring cleavage along with char gasification and condensation of aromatic rings at high temperatures. Lignin produced hydrogen through ether bond cleavage breaking of methoxy groups as well as cleavage of phenylpropane side chains and condensation of aromatic rings at high temperatures. Results from fixed-bed pyrolysis experiments further showed that hemicellulose exhibited the strongest hydrogen production capacity with the maximum H2 production efficiency of 6.09 mmol/g the maximum H2 selectivity of 17.79% and the maximum H2 effectiveness of 59% at 800°C.

Presently there is no single clear route for the near-term production of the huge volumes of CO2-free hydrogen necessary for the global transition to any type of hydrogen economy. All conventional routes to produce hydrogen from hydrocarbon fossil fuels (notably natural gas) involve the production—and hence the emission—of CO2 most notably in the steam methane reforming (SMR) process. Our recent studies have highlighted another route; namely the critical role played by the microwave-initiated catalytic pyrolysis decomposition or deconstruction of fossil hydrocarbon fuels to produce hydrogen with low to near-zero CO2 emissions together with high-value solid nanoscale carbonaceous materials. These innovations have been applied firstly to wax then methane crude oil diesel then biomass and most recently Saudi Arabian light crude oil as well as plastics waste. Microwave catalysis has therefore now emerged as a highly effective route for the rapid and effective production of hydrogen and high-value carbon nanomaterials co-products in many cases accompanied by low to near-zero CO2 emissions. Underpinning all of these advances has been the important concept from solid state physics of the so-called Size-Induced-Metal-Insulator Transition (SIMIT) in mesoscale or mesoscopic particles of catalysts. The mesoscale refers to a range of physical scale in-between the micro- and the macro-scale of matter (Huang W Li J and Edwards PP 2018 Mesoscience: exploring the common principle at mesoscale Natl. Sci. Rev. 5 321-326 (doi:10.1093/nsr/nwx083)). We highlight here that the actual physical size of the mesoscopic catalyst particles located close to the SIMIT is the primary cause of their enhanced microwave absorption and rapid heating of particles to initiate the catalytic—and highly selective—breaking of carbon–hydrogen bonds in fossil hydrocarbons and plastics to produce clean hydrogen and nanoscale carbonaceous materials. Importantly also since the surrounding ‘bath’ of hydrocarbons is cooler than the microwave-heated catalytic particles themselves the produced neutral hydrogen molecule can quickly diffuse from the active sites. This important feature of microwave heating thereby minimizes undesirable side reactions a common feature of conventional thermal heating in heterogeneous catalysis. The low to near-zero CO2 production of hydrogen via microwave-initiated decomposition or cracking of abundant hydrocarbon fossil fuels may be an interim viable alternative to the conventional widely-used SMR that a highly efficient process but unfortunately associated with the emission of vast quantities of CO2. Microwave-initiated catalytic decomposition also opens up the intriguing possibility of using distributed methane in the current natural gas structure to produce hydrogen and high-value solid carbon at either central or distributed sites. That approach will lessen many of the safety and environmental concerns associated with transporting hydrogen using the existing natural gas infrastructure. When completely optimized microwave-initiated catalytic decomposition of methane (and indeed all hydrocarbon sources) will produce no aerial carbon (CO2) and only solid carbon as a co-product. Furthermore reaction conditions can surely be optimized to target the production of high-quality synthetic graphite as the major carbon-product; that material of considerable importance as the anode material for lithium-ion batteries. Even without aiming for such products derived from the solid carbon co-product it is of course far easier to capture solid carbon rather than capturing gaseous CO2 at either the central or distributed sites. Through microwave-initiated catalytic pyrolysis this decarbonization of fossil fuels can now become the potent source of sustainable hydrogen and high-value carbon nanomaterials.

Australia’s path to net-zero emissions by 2050 depends heavily on the development and commercialisation of hydrogen as a substitute for hydrocarbons across transport power generation and industrial heat sectors. With hydrocarbons currently supplying over 90% of national energy needs hydrogen must scale rapidly to fill the gap. Existing low-carbon hydrogen production methods blue hydrogen via steam methane reforming and green hydrogen via electrolysis are constrained by high water requirements posing a challenge in water-scarce regions targeted for hydrogen development. This paper investigates dry reforming of methane (DRM) as a water-independent alternative using CO₂ as a reactant. DRM offers dual benefits: reduced reliance on freshwater resources and the utilisation of CO₂ supporting broader emissions reduction goals. Recent improvements in nickel-copper catalyst performance enhance the viability of DRM for industrial-scale hydrogen production. The Middle Arm Precinct in the Northern Territory is highlighted as an ideal site for implementation given its access to offshore gas fields containing both methane and CO₂ presenting a unique opportunity for resource-integrated low-emission hydrogen production.