Energy and exergy analyses of a biomass-based hydrogen production system

► Development of a novel biomass-based hydrogen production plant using oil palm shell as a feedstock. ► Investigation of biomass gasification, steam methane reforming and shift reaction as the main plant processes. ► Thermodynamic modeling and Aspen Plus-based analysis of the entire system and its components. ► Performance assessment of the system through exergy efficiency. ► Comparison of energy and exergy efficiencies. In this paper, a novel biomass-based hydrogen production plant is investigated. The system uses oil palm shell as a feedstock. The main plant processes are biomass gasification, steam methane reforming and shift reaction. The modeling of the gasifier uses the Gibbs free energy minimization approach and chemical equilibrium considerations. The plant, with modifications, is simulated and analyzed thermodynamically using the Aspen Plus process simulation code ( version 11.1). Exergy analysis, a useful tool for understanding and improving efficiency, is used throughout the investigation, in addition to energy analysis. The overall performance of the system is evaluated, and its efficiencies become 19% for exergy efficiency and 22% energy efficiency while the gasifier cold gas efficiency is 18%.