| 28.09.2010 10:34 |    |
Successful testing of an experimental hydrogen plant at Tecnimont KT’s Chieti test site in Italy brings highly efficient hydrogen production a step closer. The novel hydrogen plant uses membrane technology to achieve substantial energy saving. Hydrogen separation membranes were provided by the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN). Several months of testing in an integrated plant have shown both the feasibility of the innovative concept and excellent performance of ECN’s Hysep membrane technology.
The hydrogen plant is based on Reformer and Membrane Modules configuration (RMM) and integrates membrane separation and reaction modules. The advantage is a lower operating temperature of the process. Instead of the 850-900 oC required in the traditional plant, the RMM process operates well below 650 oC. With its partners Tecnimont-KT have now demonstrated the process on a 20 Nm3/h hydrogen scale.
ECN delivered a 0.4 m2 membrane module to perform the tests. These membranes are a novel technology based on thin-film Pd layers on ceramic supports. During the experiments the two most important performance indicators where closely monitored: the flux (or hydrogen yield per m2 of membrane) and the purity of the product. Both were shown to be high. More importantly, they remained high during the whole experiment which included 500 hours of operation and more than 50 thermal cycles. While testing at this scale and under actual process conditions is in itself already a one-of-a-kind, the stable performance shown in these tests is unique.
The hydrogen separation membrane technology developed at ECN is based on low-cost starting materials and standard fabrication technologies. Good results have been achieved in the lab both using membranes for purification and integrating reaction and separation. Long-term stability testing and testing under process condition are necessary steps in bringing the technology to a commercial stage. Field tests, such as those carried out by Tecnimont-KTI and partners, are essential to demonstrate the membrane technology as a market-ready technology.
About ECN
ECN (the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands) is a non-profit organization developing and bringing to the market high-level knowledge and technology for a sustainable energy supply. ECN develops palladium (Pd) alloy composite membranes for hydrogen separation from reformate, and has acquired a worldwide position in the field of membrane reactors based on inorganic membranes. More information about ECN’s Hysep membrane technology is available at www.hysep.com.
About Tecnimont KT
Tecnimont KT (formerly Technip KTI S.p.A.) is a company of Maire Tecnimont S.p.A., a leading Engineering and Main Contracting Group operating worldwide in the Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals, Power, Infrastructure and Civil Engineering sectors. The Group also has key competences in licensing and IP, and specific focus in renewable energy. With a presence in over 30 countries and 4 continents, the Group currently controls over 50 operating companies, with main Italian offices in Rome, Milan and Turin.
Tecnimont KT, headquartered in Rome, is an international process engineering company with over 35 years of experience in the design and realization of plants for the chemical, petrochemical and refining industries. It also operates as a provider of proprietary technologies and as EPC contractor for medium-sized plants and has realized over 500 projects throughout the world, with significant references in the fields of sulfur recovery and gas processing, in hydrogen and syngas production, as well as in high temperature furnaces for refineries and petrochemical plants.
Only for press
For more information, please contact:
ECN
Florentine de Maar, Press officer ECN
Phone: +31.224.564050, E-mail: demaar@ecn.nl
Yvonne van Delft, Project leader at ECN Efficiency&Infrastructure
Phone: +31.224.568178, E-mail: vandelft@ecn.nl
Tecnimont KT
Marta Borrillo, E-mail: borrillo.m@tecnimontkt.it
Phone: +39 06 60216899
Rome, 7-8 October 2013
>>Renewable energy is facing a new era, both globally and in the European context. Whilst...
>>ECN presents its attractive, innovative technologies and services to the...
>>
