Hydrogen separation in advanced gasification processes (Hydrosep)

The project concentrated on the development of high-capacity carbon-based adsorbents to capture CO2, and thin-film metal and composite membranes for hydrogen separation with polymer gas-liquid contact membranes for cold removal of CO2 and other acid gases. Also, an evaluation of integrating hydrogen production units into an IGCC power plant was undertaken to facilitate the future utilisation of the adsorbents and membranes developed. On the laboratory scale, high capacity carbon-based sorbents were developed and optimised for their CO2 adsorption efficiency at both low and high pressures. Larger (kilogram) quantities of the best performers were prepared and similarly tested. Ceramic membranes were studied and means to improve their selectivity in hydrogen separation investigated. Novel thin-film metallic membranes were deposited on porous supports to assess their efficacy in hydrogen separation and in catalytic conversion via the water-gas shift reaction, and were tested in a novel reactor. Polymer membranes were also tested for their ability to remove CO2 from syngas by liquid contact, thereby resulting in a higher purity fuel gas. Design for integration scale of some of these technologies on an industrial into an existing IGCC plant at Puertollano, Spain, were developed.