Near-real-time carbon measurement modeling for hydrogen production through hydrocarbon steam reforming

With the dual-carbon strategy, more accurate real-time carbon emissions data is required for hydrogen production companies. However, current carbon measurement methods of the hydrogen production process lack accuracy and timeliness. In this paper, we propose a near-real-time carbon measurement modeling for hydrogen production through hydrocarbon steam reforming. Considering the high fluctuation of raw materials in the actual process, the existing methods are limited to accurate carbon emissions. We construct computational models of process emissions and partial combustion emissions using Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) tail gas data. Moreover, CH4 emission is usually ignored in the HSR hydrogen production process. Therefore, we introduced a fugitive emission factor for the calculation of fugitive emissions through the material balance approach based on life cycle assessment. In addition, in order to analyse the key factors affecting the carbon emissions of the HSR process, we use sensitivity analysis methods to find critical variables. The results show that carbon emissions mainly come from process emissions and PSA tail gas combustion emissions, which are mainly influenced by tail gas composition and flow rate. The measurement model can provide a theoretical basis for the real-time carbon monitoring system of HSR hydrogen production and promote the low-carbon operation of related enterprises.