Abstract
Biomass-derived hydrogen (Bio-H2), which is produced through a gasification process, can be used as the fuel in fuel cells. However, impurities such as H2S and HCl produced as by-products during the gasification process can reduce the voltage output and shorten the lifespan of Bio-H2-based fuel cells. Therefore, efficient means of removing H2S produced during the production of Bio-H2 are needed. Generally, the removal of unwanted by-products requires large amounts of metal oxide as an adsorbent, which has a large environmental impact. Here, we examined how to reduce the amount of adsorbent needed for the removal of H2S during the production of Bio-H2. A life cycle assessment approach was then used to assess the environmental impact of removing H2S. For the production of Bio-H2 at low temperatures, adsorption of H2S with Fe2O3 and ZnO was found to be promising. We also found that the Bio-H2 could be further purified by replacing the conventional pressure swing adsorption process with a two-step process. In our novel Bio-H2 production process, the H2S removal performance of the entire process was comparable with that of a conventional process. Moreover, our novel process had 91% less impact on the life cycle assessment index abiotic depletion.
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Kuroda, S., Ishiyama, T., Kondo, S., Kameyama, M., Seo, Y., Dowaki, K. (2019). Life Cycle Assessment-Directed Optimization of Hydrogen Sulfide Removal During Biomass-Derived Hydrogen Production. In: Hu, A., Matsumoto, M., Kuo, T., Smith, S. (eds) Technologies and Eco-innovation towards Sustainability II. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1196-3_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1196-3_9
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