RE: Gasification or Pyrolysis.29 Aug 2024 15:38
Bit of trivia
Some of us are old enough to remember Town Gas, the favoured medium for ending life by head in the oven ( sorry), since it was very toxic. Had a pungent smell, and gas leaks in the home were quickly identified. In the transition to natural gas ( CH4 Methane), since it is odourless, a 'smell' additive is used to detect leaks. Production of Town Gas was by gasification of coal, the end product being not high calorific value gas, combustible, with similar composition to Syngas, but with some Hydrogen Sulfide. ( the pungent smell). I can only assume, had colour coding been in place at the time, the H2 produced would have been 'black'. With different Thermodynamic parameters the solid residue after coal gasification, was sold as a 'smokeless' fuel, Coke. .
H2 from Steam Reforming Methane ( SRM), accounts for 90+ % of World production ( predominantly Shell plc), and because it has a very high C footprint, is Grey H2, and more recently, gas scrubbing to reduce C gas emissions, produces Blue H2. If H2 is produced from Syngas ( Water-gas shift reaction), H2 is grey since the process has large carbon footprint. If gas is 'scrubbed' then H2 would be Blue.
Since, to my knowledge, no specific details have been shared by PHE for the H2 production process from Syngas, I am assuming it is WGSR, or a variation.
To encapsulate some of my previous posts on H2 markets.
Cars and Hydrogen Fuel Cell.(HFC). Only available in western markets on high end marques, costing £60K+. The mass market will be Battery Powered Vehicles. BEV. The latter will gain much more momentum with Solis State batteries (SS), with ranges of 1000km +, and charging times in minutes, Also substantially lighter than Li batteries.
Main market for HFC will be HGV, Ships, Trains, Public Transport, some Inter-City aircraft., where cost is fraction of buying price.
Major users of H2 in HFC for the above markets, will do as they do now, buy their fuel in bulk, with 'Hub' storage facilities.
I believe PHE as now 'seen the light', and marketing the other benefits as previously described. The main one is cost effective removal of non-recyclable waste plastic and tyres from the environment, with usable bi-products, namely, Syngas with Gasification, and Kerosene ( Jet Fuel) with Pyrolysis, Process Thermodynamics, different temps and Pressures.
We only have one major hurdle to overcome now. Can DMG, by whatever process PHE decide to call it, produce Syngas from plastic and tyres, in commercial quantities.
Many Chemical Processing Plants use Syngas, H2, NH4 as a feedstock for a variety of products. All of these Plants are in 'out of town' locations, with a Recycling facility within a few Km, and an ideal site for DMG.
All IMHO.