Process simulation of hydrogen rich gas production from producer gas using HTS catalysis

Abstract

In the present article, ASPEN Plus is used to develop a process model of the hydrogen-rich gas production through cleaning and catalytic conditioning of producer gas. The process includes producer gas cleaning using venturi scrubber and sand bed filter followed by compression of the gas to 0.6 MPa using compressor. The clean producer gas along with steam undergoes high temperature water gas shift reaction to produce hydrogen-rich gas. The power law kinetic model for commercial HTS catalysts reported in the literature is used in the model. Experimental results from our previous study and those reported in the literature are used to validate the developed model for the compositions of CO & H2 in the product gas. The validated model is further simulated to study the effects of parameters such as reactor temperature, catalyst bed length and steam to CO ratio on the product gas composition. The optimum operating conditions for maximizing CO conversion are found and reported. The maximum H2 composition and CO conversion predicted by the model are 27.029% 97.5479% respectively and the corresponding operating conditions are reactor; temperature of 350 °C, S/CO of 8 and GHSV 1000 h−1.