Volume 45: Energy Transitions toward Carbon Neutrality: Part VIII

Carbon Footprint and Economic Analysis of Classic Coal-to-Hydrogen Retrofit Planning with CCUS Ang Xuan, Xinwei Shen

Abstract

As a clean, efficient, and safe new energy carrier, hydrogen is widely utilized in the construction, transportation, and power industries, and it is also one of the critical directions of the world energy transition. China produces about 2/3 of hydrogen through coal-tohydrogen as the world’s largest hydrogen producer and significant consumer. However, “grey hydrogen” generates lots of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions through the combustion of fossil fuels. As an effective way to achieve rapid carbon reduction in the future, Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technology is regarded by the IEA as a bottom-up technology to achieve carbon neutrality. This study presents a CCUS retrofit planning method based on the classic coal-tohydrogen process and CCUS technology. Carbon capture devices capture CO2 through the electricity supplied by the hydrogen power generation unit, the remaining electricity can be sold for revenue; meanwhile, captured CO2 can be further utilized to profit. The cases discuss the effectiveness and economy of the planning model from the perspectives of full-chain carbon footprint and the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) production. The simulation results show that the LCOH in the proposed retrofit planning method is 9.65ï¿¥/kg. Compared with the unretrofitted scenario, the full-chain carbon footprint is reduced by 79.7%, and the LCOH is increased by 36.5%.

Keywords CCUS, Coal-to-Hydrogen, Retrofit Planning, Carbon Footprint, Economic Analysis