WP1
The coordination proceeded as planned.
WP2
This work package has been completed in the first reporting period. The industrial specifications have been assessed for the HYGRID system.
WP3
More than 65 ceramic supported Pd membranes have been prepared and integrated into the HyGrid prototype. Results of the testing show that the membranes installed in the prototype had the same characteristics of the lab scale membranes.
WP4
The development of the sub-system for the prototype in WP7 has been completed and the system integrated. The results show that the EHP can achieve the required separation and the energy efficiency set in the proposal.
WP5
In WP5 HyGear has designed and assembled the TSA pilot plant. Sizing of the pilot plant was performed using the TSA chemical model developed in Task 8.2. HyGear finished the installation on the test site successfully and finished the integration in this period. Tests confirmed that the model with adapted kinetic parameter predicts most trends, such as bed temperatures, cycle time, water adsorption and break through quite well.
WP6
Carbon membranes were tested in the high-pressure setup to understand the behavior in terms of permeance and selectivity especially in case of HyGrid conditions. Initially, pure gas tests and later mixtures at different temperatures and pressure were performed. Cases with atmosphere, vacuum and higher pressure in the permeate side were taken into account. Humidified and dry membrane conditions were tested to understand the effect of water adsorption to improve membrane purity. Gases were saturated in a tank full of water in case humidified conditions were applied. The purpose is to compare experimental results of carbon and Pd-Ag membranes at higher pressure to verify which could suit better the HyGrid configuration. Enough results have been obtained. These have been used for the modeling and definition of additional configurations to improve the efficiency of the system.
WP7
HyGear finalized the design and started ordering components for the assembly of the HyGrid pilot plant. Discussions were held with partners Tecnalia, TU/e and HyET regarding the integration of the main components of the HyGrid pilot plant. One of the results was that HyGear has taken over part of the activities from partner HyET. A process flow diagram with the main streams of the HyGrid prototype was prepared after the discussions. The system has been tested, and the results have shown that the HYGRID system can reach the targets of purity and KPI of CAPEX and OPEX. however, more research is needed to assure higher stability of the complete system when working with NG.
WP8
Different simulations were carried out for optimizing the HyGrid system. After the sensitivity analysis, a techno-economic evaluation was performed based on NETL method to calculate the hydrogen separation cost and understand the more convenient configuration from an economic point of view. New configurations have been patented by TUE and TECNALIA. it has been found that for a very low production rate (25 kg/day) and according to the assumptions of only 5 units sold per year, the best configuration for low pressure applications is configuration C that achieves both KPIs on energy and CAPEX, but only reaches 99.92% purity. At high pressures, the best compromise is configuration E5 that reaches 99.99% purity with 5.4 kWh/kgH2 and 1.82 €/kgH2.
WP9
The aim of WP9 was to perform an environmental LCA and economic assessment of the hydrogen recovery systems developed within HyGrid. The results have shown that the HYGRID system is performing much better in terms of Environmental performance compared t the other commercial systems such as PSA.
WP10
The activities on “exploitation and dissemination” were mainly focused on the implementation of the dissemination and communication strategy and tools, the development of the initial Plan for Use and Dissemination of Foreground (PUDF) and the stakeholder analysis. A project website has been prepared and is continuously updated; non-confidential presentations, to present the HyGrid project, have been prepared. Several papers have been produced and published Open Access. Two patents have been submitted on Carbon membranes and on Hydrogen separation configurations. One PhD thesis has been approved and the new doctor is now working in hydrogen related field. Several presentations have been held at international conferences. 3 workshops have been organized (unfortunately mainly online due to COVID restrictions). The overall communication and dissemination activity can be thus summarized as: 2 Patent applications, 9 scientific publications, 32 Presentations between oral and posters (plus 2 at Hydrogen weeks) 3 workshops, 1 PhD thesis.
