Low-emissions hydrogen from MCH dehydrogenation: Integration with LNG regasification

Methylcyclohexane (MCH) is a promising organic hydride carrier for hydrogen transport and storage. Recovering hydrogen from MCH is an energy intensive process. An innovative idea of integrating this process with liquified natural gas (LNG) regasification is proposed in this study and demonstrated via modelling and simulation to substantially reduce external energy use. The synergistic benefits are twofold. In addition to providing a cold energy source for an effective high recovery cryogenic flash separation, the organic Rankine cycle based electrical power generation potential from LNG cold energy is fully exploited to reduce/eliminate external electricity demand for hydrogen compression to the high (end use) pressure. The results is a major reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. The proposed design for an integrated LNG-H₂ terminal can supply (1) 99.99 mol% pure hydrogen to a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power plant and (2) commercial-grade natural gas to a gas-grid, both at the desired pressures and temperatures. Subsequently, rigorous simulation-based optimization was performed to minimize external energy inputs. A case study with 100 tph MCH and 100 tph LNG showed that integrating regasification with dehydrogenation produced 6.2 tph of hydrogen while gasifying LNG with a net power generation of 310 kW and a hydrogen recovery cost of 0.282 $/kg H₂. Up to 7.3 tonnes of hydrogen can be produced per 100 tonnes of LNG without the use of external power. On the other hand, using external power, up to 11.3 tonnes of hydrogen can be produced per 100 tonnes of LNG without any external refrigeration. Overall, the superstructure proposed in this manuscript provides a generic initial approach for future MCH hydrogen supply chain projects, when considering integrations with LNG regasification plants.