Blue Hydrogen Production Through Partial Oxidation: A Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Assessment

Abstract

Partial oxidation (POx) as a hydrogen production method has not received comprehensive exploration as the resulting syngas has a relatively low H₂/CO ratio compared to established techniques like steam methane reforming (SMR). As a result, this study aims to comprehensively investigate the feasibility of a low-carbon hydrogen production process using POx from both technical-economic and environmental standpoints. To achieve this, the Aspen Plus® software is employed to model a hydrogen production plant with carbon capture integration, referred to as POx-CCS (carbon capture and storage). The research reveals that the overall energy efficiency of the POx-CCS process is around 73%. Moreover, the economic evaluation indicates that the levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH) is €1.8/ kg_H2, given a fuel price of €5.7 per GJ. This cost competitiveness positions POx-CCS in line with conventional hydrogen production methods. From an environmental perspective, the impact of climate change on hydrogen production through the POx-CCS process is assessed to be 1.1 kg CO₂ eq./kg_H2. This impact is reduced by 69% compared to SMR with CCS.