Nuclear hydrogen production through carbonaceous-matter gasification. A physicochemical optimization

Abstract

To reach the worldwide decarbonisation and the corresponding climate change mitigation, low-carbon energy sources must be used in the near-term and the role of the nuclear energy in pathways to produce net zero emissions is outstanding. This is not only because nuclear energy produces carbon-free energy, but also because it can supply high-temperature process heat to industrial applications such as the hydrogen production. Hydrogen is presently considered as the energy vector of the future to attain these environmental goals. In this paper, the possible use of a nuclear-assisted steam coal gasification process for hydrogen production is investigated in deep. As a modern High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (HTGR) is able to produce a gas outlet temperature of 950 ◦C, the nuclear heat can be transferred to a steam coal gasification plant via an intermediate helium circuit for providing the high-temperature process heat required by the endothermic gasification reactions between the steam and the carbonaceous matter. The nuclear-assisted gasification technology is considered to be attractive for the processing of an Argentine orthoasphaltite that is extracted from a minefield located in Neuqu´en province. The present research comprises both theoretical and experimental studies, which were addressed to get the necessary information about the optimal conditions for the hydrogen production though the steam gasification process using the Argentine orthoasphaltite as feedstock. A conceptual design of an energy complex for nuclear hydrogen, electricity and liquid fuels production is also proposed. In this conceptual design, the steam coal gasification reactor consists of two concentric vessels specially designed to separate the pyrolysis step occurring at low temperature and the char gasification step that takes place at higher temperatures. In this way, it is possible to give a full use to the volatile compounds that are present in the feedstock and are identified and characterized in this work.