HPH® the New Hydrogen Technology

THE HPH STEAM REFORMING PROJECT

Our system involves the vaporization of water and the passage of a mixture of water vapor and methane in a reactor.
 
This reactor is heated by a high temperature plasma. Subsequently, the gases touch a catalyst of our design which works at 450/500 °C, obtained directly from the plasma. The accessory components of the system are the same as the traditional steam reforming already in use.

PROCESS DESCRIPTION – THE REACTOR 

The HPH Plasma Steam Reforming System is based on the use of plasma for the generation of hydrogen by steam reforming a solution of methane and water.
The starting mixture is fed at a pressure of 1 bar to a boiler, to transform the liquid into steam.
 
This boiler works at 130 °C and the outgoing steam is blown into the reactor together with the methane and transformed into high temperature plasma. After this, still inside the reactor, the gaseous mixture passes through a catalytic bed designed and produced by HPH, at a temperature of 450 °C / 500 °C and the gases complete the steam reforming reaction. The gases leaving the reactor are conveyed to a WGS catalytic bed, which allows the transformation of carbon monoxide into CO₂ and H2.
 
These gases pass through an exchanger that allows them to release heat (using it for the preheating phase of the reagents entering the system) and condense the residual water. Currently the power of the developed prototype system is equal to 200 W, corresponding to the generation of 20 g / h of H2 (10 Mol 0,224 m³).

One of the reactors that can be mounted in parallel 

 

The catalytic bed designed and produced by HPH is a catalyst that has been subjected to particular chemical treatments that have given it the properties that allow the following advantages over the systems currently on the market:

VERSATILITY 
The plant can be fueled with several different inputs, such as water + ethanol/bioethanol mixture, water + methane/biomethane mixture, making it a green system.

REDUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Significantly lower temperatures are required compared to conventional plants, 450 °C compared to 1100 °C. The electrical energy used is 9-10 kW/h to produce 1 Kg of hydrogen, compared with 42kW/h for standard steam reforming and 60 kW/h for an electrolyzer.

REDUCED START-UP TIME  
Few minutes needed for the process to get up to speed, regardless of the type of input. Steam reformers currently on the market operate at very high temperatures and are very complex systems, so full capacity can take as long as days to reach. 

LOW INVESTMENTS 
The reactor and additional plant equipment have very low costs. The assembly of the plant is very simple, and it does not need any major maintenance like normal steam reformers or electrolyzers. 

PRACTICALITY  
The plant as a whole is easy to move and can be located where the production of hydrogen is most required, as it is mounted on a skid. 

LOW MAINTENANCE  
The durability of the materials used ensure that the reactor and the bed catalytic do not need frequent maintenance. 

PROCESS DESCRIPTION – PLANT LAYOUT 

PROCESS DESCRIPTION – RUNNING SCHEME 

SCALABILITY OF HPH TECHNOLOGY