A techno-economic evaluation of the hydrogen production for energy generation using an ethanol fuel processor

The techno-economic analysis of a process to convert ethanol into H-2 to be used as a fuel for PEM fuel cells of H-2-powered cars was done. A plant for H-2 production was simulated using experimental results obtained on monolith reactors for ethanol steam reforming and WGS steps. The steam reforming (Rh/CeSiO2) and WGS (Pt/ZrO2) monolith catalysts remained quite stable during long-term startup/shut down cycles, with no carbon deposition. The H-2 production cost was significantly affected by the ethanol price. The monolith catalyst costs contribution was lower than that of conventional reactors. The H-2 production cost obtained using the expensive Brazilian ethanol price (0.81 US$/L ethanol) was US$ 8.87/kg H-2, which is lower than the current market prices (US$ 13.44/kg H-2) practiced at H-2 refueling stations in California. This result showed that this process is economically feasible to provide H-2 as a fuel for H-2-powered cars at competitive costs in refueling stations. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.