Periodic Reporting for period 1 - eQATOR (Electrically heated catalytic reforming reactors)
Berichtszeitraum: 2022-06-01 bis 2023-11-30
The main goal of ēQATOR is demonstration of scalable, electrically-heated catalytic reactor technologies in an industrially relevant environment (TRL 6), that will allow conversion of biogas into syngas (a mixture of H2 and CO) with improved efficiency compared to the state-of-art. This will bridge biogas production with downstream conversion technology, yielding higher added-value products produced from syngas, such as methanol (MeOH). The central innovation in ēQATOR is the integrated development of catalysts and reactors and two different, complementary, electrical heating technologies, resistive heating (RH) and microwave heating (MWH), leading to disruptive reactor technologies for syngas production. ēQATOR will help transform syngas production from large-volume reactors with fired burners using fossil carbon feedstocks to electrically-heated and compact reactors (up to 90 % reduction in total reactor size and 50-75 % reduction in catalyst volume) using renewable carbon feedstocks, realising significant benefits from process intensification. Consequently, implementation of the ēQATOR technology will decrease life-cycle CO2 emissions in syngas production by 60-80 % and save from 7Mt CO2/year in 2030, up to around 45 Mt CO2/year in 2045, leading to cumulated CO2 emissions savings of at least 330 Mt by 2045. Demonstration of both RH and MWH technologies at TRL 6 will allow ēQATOR to evaluate the potential of these electrically-heated catalytic reactor technologies against each other, thus identifying better the strengths and weaknesses of each for further TRL development.
The project has four objectives for realisation of the main goal. Objective 1 is the development of tailored innovative catalyst materials suitable for electrical RH and MWH. These will provide a stable catalyst composition that can valorise, without coking, a range of industrial and agricultural biogas compositions. Methodologies for upscaling supported catalysts for the TRL 6 reactor will be developed. Objective 2 is the integrated development of the next generation of catalytic routes and reactor designs that can utilize alternative energy resources. The reactors will be designed with emphasis on process intensification, industrial scalability and adaptability to other reactions. Objective 3 is the overall integration and demonstration of an economically viable, environmentally friendly and socially acceptable process for an industrially feasible, electrical conversion of biogas to MeOH at TRL 6. The deployment of the ēQATOR technology for syngas production from biogas, within a MeOH value chain, will provide an economically competitive, environmentally friendly and fully renewable carbon alternative to fossil-based MeOH in a scenario with low-cost renewable power and increased CO2 cost. Objective 4 is the increase in renewable energy use through deployment of electrification in EU industry and innovative business models, including the impact of deploying electrical heating in EU industry and assessment of the potential for sustainable use of biogas.
The project has four objectives for realisation of the main goal. Objective 1 is the development of tailored innovative catalyst materials suitable for electrical RH and MWH. These will provide a stable catalyst composition that can valorise, without coking, a range of industrial and agricultural biogas compositions. Methodologies for upscaling supported catalysts for the TRL 6 reactor will be developed. Objective 2 is the integrated development of the next generation of catalytic routes and reactor designs that can utilize alternative energy resources. The reactors will be designed with emphasis on process intensification, industrial scalability and adaptability to other reactions. Objective 3 is the overall integration and demonstration of an economically viable, environmentally friendly and socially acceptable process for an industrially feasible, electrical conversion of biogas to MeOH at TRL 6. The deployment of the ēQATOR technology for syngas production from biogas, within a MeOH value chain, will provide an economically competitive, environmentally friendly and fully renewable carbon alternative to fossil-based MeOH in a scenario with low-cost renewable power and increased CO2 cost. Objective 4 is the increase in renewable energy use through deployment of electrification in EU industry and innovative business models, including the impact of deploying electrical heating in EU industry and assessment of the potential for sustainable use of biogas.
ēQATOR has developed a catalyst for the dry reforming of biogas to syngas that is stable for up to 300 h time-on-stream and does not show evidence of coking under the preferred dry reforming conditions. This catalyst meets all the necessary development criteria and is the current choice for impregnation on appropriate supports for the RH and MWH applications. For RH, the support will be an electrically conductive ceramic honeycomb. Honeycombs with an edge length of 18 mm have been reproducibly produced. Ni electrodes have been successfully mounted on these honeycombs. A PID controller and steady-state-relay, suitable for AC or DC, will control the amount of electricity to, and thus the temperature of, the honeycomb. A fibre mat will provide the necessary insulation. The current RH reactor model will have a series of 50 mm edge-length honeycombs in parallel, with individual temperature control based on the overall reaction kinetics. A model for the MWH reactor has been developed.
Two different process schemes with simulations have been completed. The dry reforming scheme was developed for biogas produced from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, and it will have only CH4 and CO2 as reactants. The mixed reforming scheme was developed for biogas produced from manure. The mixed reforming scheme will have CO2, CH4 and H2O as the reactants and is designed to be more achievable than the pure dry reforming configuration. The work for construction and placement of the TRL 6 pilot plant has started.
The overall goal and scope, the general definitions and settings and the system description have been determined as the bases for the project's integrated life cycle sustainability assessment work. The first rough greenhouse gas (GHG) balance shows that emissions from biogas, electricity for the syngas reactor and H2 production are the important contributions. The emission factor from electricity production is decisive. In the short term (2030), it is unclear whether GHG emissions can be reduced compared to state-of-the-art MeOH production, but for the time being, there seems to be an advantage over MeOH production from CO2 and H2. With fully renewable electricity by 2050, there are clear benefits over the state-of-the-art, but the comparison with MeOH produced from CO2 and H2 will depend on electricity grid stabilization and the role of biogas in it.
Two different process schemes with simulations have been completed. The dry reforming scheme was developed for biogas produced from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, and it will have only CH4 and CO2 as reactants. The mixed reforming scheme was developed for biogas produced from manure. The mixed reforming scheme will have CO2, CH4 and H2O as the reactants and is designed to be more achievable than the pure dry reforming configuration. The work for construction and placement of the TRL 6 pilot plant has started.
The overall goal and scope, the general definitions and settings and the system description have been determined as the bases for the project's integrated life cycle sustainability assessment work. The first rough greenhouse gas (GHG) balance shows that emissions from biogas, electricity for the syngas reactor and H2 production are the important contributions. The emission factor from electricity production is decisive. In the short term (2030), it is unclear whether GHG emissions can be reduced compared to state-of-the-art MeOH production, but for the time being, there seems to be an advantage over MeOH production from CO2 and H2. With fully renewable electricity by 2050, there are clear benefits over the state-of-the-art, but the comparison with MeOH produced from CO2 and H2 will depend on electricity grid stabilization and the role of biogas in it.
The eventual advance of the ēQATOR technology beyond the state-of-the-art will largely be determined by the TRL 6 demonstration results. The identification of a stable catalyst that does not deactivate from coking under the expected reaction conditions is a key result that places more developmental pressure on the electrically-heated reactors. An innovative process scheme for dry reforming has been developed. A reactor design for the RH heater can at this point be envisioned. The production of resistively-heated ceramic honeycombs and the ability to control their temperature is encouraging for a successful TRL 6 demonstration. The parallel reactor configuration and material selection are both suitable for upscaling to higher TRLs.
The TRL 6 pilot plant will run at 10 Nm3/h feed gas for 1000 h. This is 2 % of the envisioned feed for a full-scale commercial plant. Given the caveats of a successful project with positive economic and environmental outlook, the next step would be demonstration of combined dry reforming and MeOH production at a scale of about 100 Nm3/h. The current techno-economic analysis, however, suggests an ēQATOR MeOH price that would need subsidies to achieve market penetration.
The TRL 6 pilot plant will run at 10 Nm3/h feed gas for 1000 h. This is 2 % of the envisioned feed for a full-scale commercial plant. Given the caveats of a successful project with positive economic and environmental outlook, the next step would be demonstration of combined dry reforming and MeOH production at a scale of about 100 Nm3/h. The current techno-economic analysis, however, suggests an ēQATOR MeOH price that would need subsidies to achieve market penetration.