UNIVERSITAS INDONESIA

HYDROGEN SYNTHESIS BY BIOMASS GASIFICATION PROCESS

Revised Report Assignment 1

GROUP 7

GROUP PERSONNEL:
ARIFAH MEFI BALUSHI (1706985685)
HILMIA ZAHRA (1706038525)
MOENICA SARI DEWI (1706985773)
MUHAMMAD RAFI HAYUDO (1706985792)
NISA METHILDA ANDRIANA R (1706985810)

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

ENGINEERING FACULTY
UNIVERSITAS INDONESIA
OCTOBER, 2020
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The use of fossil fuel can increase concentration of carbon dioxide, carbon
monoxide, sulfur, and nitrogen (SOx and NOx) gases in the environment. These
gases can cause global warming. Besides that, the availability of fossil fuel sources
continues to deplete. This encourages the researchers to develop efforts to
overcome this problem include using renewable energy.
Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable sources,
namely geothermal energy, bioethanol, wind energy, and also biomass. Hydrogen
can become alternative energy as a substitute for fossil fuels because the energy is
clean and best as replacement fuel for cars, trucks and buses. But approximately
95% of the hydrogen produced today comes from carbonaceous raw material,
primarily fossil in origin. Only some part of the production of hydrogen is used as
an energy source, mostly hydrogen is used as a chemical feedstock for the
petrochemical industry, metallurgical process industry and so on. Meanwhile, the
hydrogen's share in the energy market is increasing due to the implementation of
the fuel cell system and the growth in demand for zero-emission fuel.
Gasification is the process of converting carbon-containing materials such
as coal, petroleum, biomass, and plastic into carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen
(H) by reacting the raw materials used at high temperatures with a regulated amount
of oxygen. The biomass gasification process consists of several stages. The first
stage is pyrolysis, which occurs when biomass fuel begins to experience an increase
in temperature. The second stage is the combustion process, the volatiles and some
charcoal that contain carbon (C) react with oxygen to form CO2 and H2O. The next
stage is the gasification stage. This stage occurs when charcoal reacts with CO2 and
water vapor to produce CO and H2 gases, which also occurs water-gas-shift
reaction.
Some of the parameters used in the selection of raw materials in this
hydrogen plant are the size of biomass particles, moisture content, volatile matter,
composition of cellulose and lignin, the availability and also the sustainability of
the raw material. Market analysis is carried out based on the potential use of
hydrogen as future energy. Then the factory production capacity is determined
based on projected use of hydrogen as a fuel cell in vehicles based on ERIA data

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(Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia). Based on product
capacity calculation, our hydrogen plant will have 104.4 ton/year hydrogen
production.
The hydrogen production process from biomass begins with pyrolysis and
steam gasification. Biomass is converted into its components then undergoes a
gasification process to produce several compounds such as CO2, H2, CO, CH4, and
H2S. The biomass gasification process takes place at high temperatures and uses
steam. After that the gas will enter the cyclone to separate sand, CaCO3, and
unreacted char. Sand, CaCO3, and unreacted char will enter the furnace to undergo
a combustion process with air. The sand will carry heat to the reactor to supply
heat for the gasification process, and CaCO3 will undergo a calcination reaction to
become CaO which is useful as a CO2 absorbent. CaO and sand will be circulated
to the reactor. The gas will be cooled and then compressed for storage.
The plant will be built in Namu Gajah, Medan Tuntungan District, Medan
City, North Sumatera. The location was chosen as our plant location because of its
location fulfilled several aspects, such as the proximity to raw materials, close to
water resources, easy to obtain labor, and the access to transportation and
infrastructure.
The process selection conduct raw material selection, reactor selection and
catalyst selection. For select the best option, the team made the criterion for each
selection and make the scoring. The raw material, reactor, and catalyst that get most
high score from each selection are pine sawdust, fluidized bed reactor and CaO.
Calculating of mass and energy balance is done using simulations at Aspen
Plus. Based on the simulation, hydrogen that can be produce is around 11.0007 kg
per hour or 264.0168 kg per day, each of which is converted from 13.604 kg per
hour pine sawdust (biomass) or 326.496 kg per day. Product conversion efficiency
and energy consumption are 14.75% and 8908525.7 cal/kg hydrogen.
The gasification to produce biomass from pine sawdust is carried out by the
fluidized bed reactor with steam gasifying agent. For the utility, the 415.8 MWy
electric requirement will be supplied by the national electric company. Steam is
only utilised on the boiler for gasifying agent, and the cold steams are supplied
using cooling water.

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 LIST OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................... ii
LIST OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................... iv
LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. v
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................... vi
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION.......................................................................... 1
1.1 Background .............................................................................................. 1
1.2 Review of Literature ................................................................................. 2
1.2.1 Biomass ............................................................................................. 2
1.2.2 Source of biomass ............................................................................. 3
1.2.3 Hydrogen ........................................................................................... 3
1.2.4 Gasification ....................................................................................... 5
1.3 Analysis .................................................................................................... 7
1.3.1 Raw Material Analysis ...................................................................... 7
1.3.2 Market and Product Capacity ............................................................ 9
1.3.3 Plant Location Analysis .................................................................. 11
CHAPTER II PROCESS SELECTION ........................................................... 14
2.1. Process Selection .................................................................................... 14
2.1.1 Raw Material Selection ................................................................... 14
2.1.2 Process Production Selection .......................................................... 16
2.1.3 Catalyst selection ............................................................................ 21
2.2. Process Synthesis ................................................................................... 23
2.3. Block Flow Diagram .............................................................................. 26
2.4. Process Flow Diagram ............................................................................ 27
2.5. Product Specification and Comparison to Others .................................. 31
CHAPTER III MASS AND ENERGY BALANCE ......................................... 33
3.1. Mass Balance .......................................................................................... 33
3.1.1. Reaction Process ............................................................................. 33
3.2. Energy Balance....................................................................................... 37
3.3. Product Conversion Efficiency .............................................................. 37
3.4. Yield ....................................................................................................... 37
3.5. Energy Consumption .............................................................................. 38
CHAPTER IV PLANT UTILITY ..................................................................... 39
4.1 Water ...................................................................................................... 39
4.1.1 Cooling Water ................................................................................. 39
4.1.2 Steam ............................................................................................... 39
4.3 Electricity ............................................................................................... 40
4.4 Fuel ......................................................................................................... 41
4.5 Waste Treatment ..................................................................................... 42
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION ........................................................................... 43
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 44

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 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1 Hydrogen Production from Various Sources ......................................... 4
Figure 1.2 Summary of Assumptions/Scenarios ................................................... 10
Figure 1.3 Hydrogen Demand Potential by Sector in Indonesia ........................... 10
Figure 1.4 Plant Location for Hydrogen Production ............................................. 11
Figure 2.1 Block Flow Diagram of Hydrogen Synthesis ...................................... 26
Figure 2.2 Process Flow Diagram of Hydrogen Synthesis ................................... 27
Figure 2.3 Process Flow Diagram of Steam Utility .............................................. 28
Figure 2.4 Process Flow Diagram of Water Cooling utility ................................. 29
Figure 2.5 Process Flow Diagram of Waste Water Treatment utility ................... 30

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 LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1 Benchmark of Biomass Source ............................................................. 14
Table 2.2 Criteria Detail for Biomass Selection ................................................... 15
Table 2.3 The Result of Biomass Selection .......................................................... 15
Table 2.4 Characteristics and Performance of Gasification Reactors ................... 18
Table 2.5 Criteria for Gasification Reactor Selection ........................................... 19
Table 2.6 The Result of Gasification Reactor Selection ....................................... 19
Table 2.7 Criteria for Gasifying Agent Selection ................................................. 20
Table 2.8 The Result of Gasification Reactor Selection ....................................... 21
Table 2.9 Value of Catalyst Performance ............................................................. 22
Table 2.10 Scoring Criteria for Catalyst Selection ............................................... 23
Table 2.11 Result for Catalyst Selection ............................................................... 23
Table 2.12 Comparison Hydrogen to Others ........................................................ 31
Table 2.13 Comparison Hydrogen to Methane and Gasoline ............................... 32
Table 3.1 Overall Mass Balance ........................................................................... 33
Table 3.2 Mass Balance for Each Equipment ....................................................... 34
Table 3.3 Overall Energy Balance ........................................................................ 37
Table 4.1 Boiler Feed Water Standard .................................................................. 40
Table 4.2 Electricity .............................................................................................. 41
Table 4.3 Fuel Requirement .................................................................................. 42

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 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
The use of fossil fuel can increase concentration of carbon dioxide, carbon
monoxide, sulfur, and nitrogen (SOx and NOx) gases in the environment. These
gases can cause global warming. Besides that, the availability of fossil fuel sources
continues to deplete. This encourages the researchers to develop efforts to
overcome this problem include using renewable energy.
Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable sources,
namely geothermal energy, bioethanol, wind energy, and biomass. Hydrogen can
become alternative energy as a substitute for fossil fuels because the energy is clean
and best as replacement fuel for cars, trucks, and buses. But approximately 95% of
the hydrogen produced today comes from carbonaceous raw material, primarily
fossil in origin. Only some part of the production of hydrogen is used as an energy
source, mostly hydrogen is used as a chemical feedstock for the petrochemical
industry, metallurgical process industry and so on. Meanwhile, the hydrogen's
share in the energy market is increasing due to the implementation of the fuel cell
system and the growth in demand for zero-emission fuel.
Biomass has the potential as a raw material for producing hydrogen for
future energy. Because biomass is renewable besides that biomass consumes CO2
when it grows and gives a lower CO2 impact than fossil fuels. Biomass is a
renewable energy source that will never be exhausted because of its abundant
availability, besides this biomass regeneration process does not require a long time.
Some of the advantages of Bio-H2 are renewable (renewable energy) and
environment friendly (green energy), the byproduct of combustion is in the form of
water vapor so that it does not cause a greenhouse effect, acid rain, and depletion
of the ozone layer, and can utilize waste and organic waste as a fermentation
substrate. But there are many challenges in developing biomass into a hydrogen
source. The hydrogen yield produced by biomass is quite low due to its low
hydrogen content and high oxygen content. Another obstacle faced for this
alternative energy is a big investment and the current H2 price is still much higher
expensive compared to other fuels.

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There are several processes for producing hydrogen such as gasification,

pyrolysis, fermentation, sponge iron processes and others. Besides that, currently
there have been several studies related to solutions to increase hydrogen yield from
biomass, such as using CaO absorbent to absorb CO2 gas and produce more
hydrogen. Besides, there are several ways to increase hydrogen yield such as
reacting the remaining unreacted CO and CH4 to form hydrogen. Therefore, a
hydrogen plant from biomass will be designed to produce hydrogen as future
energy.
Besides that, based on LIPI data, the potential of biomass resources in
Indonesia is quite a lot, estimated at 49,810 MW, which comes from plants and
waste. The great potential of biomass for energy today is plantation waste such as
palm oil, coconut, and sugar cane, as well as forest product waste, such as sawn
waste and wood production waste. Besides being able to utilize the residual waste
from plantations, the use of biomass as hydrogen can be an alternative solution to
reduce greenhouse gases in the future.
1.2 Review of Literature
1.2.1 Biomass
Biomass is plant or animal material used for energy production (electricity
or heat), or in various industrial processes as raw substance for a range of products.
It can be purposely grown energy crops (e.g. miscanthus, switchgrass), wood or
forest residues, waste from food crops (wheat straw, bagasse), horticulture (yard
waste), food processing (corn cobs), animal farming (manure, rich in nitrogen and
phosphorus), or human waste from sewage plants.
Burning plant-derived biomass releases CO2, but it has still been classified
as a renewable energy source in the EU and UN legal frameworks because
photosynthesis cycles the CO2 back into new crops. In some cases, this recycling
of CO2 from plants to atmosphere and back into plants can even be CO2 negative,
as a relatively large portion of the CO2 is moved to the soil during each cycle.
Cofiring with biomass has increased in coal power plants because it makes it
possible to release less CO2 without the cost associated with building new
infrastructure. Co-firing is not without issues however, often an upgrade of the

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biomass is most beneficial. Upgrading to higher grade fuels can be achieved by

different methods, broadly classified as thermal, chemical, or biochemical
1.2.2 Source of biomass
Historically, humans have harnessed biomass-derived energy since the time
when people began burning wood fuel. Even in 2019, biomass is the only source of
fuel for domestic use in many developing countries. All biomass is biologically-
produced matter based in carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The estimated biomass
production in the world is approximately 100 billion metric tons of carbon per year,
about half in the ocean and half on land.
Wood and residues from wood, for instance spruce, birch, eucalyptus,
willow, oil palm, remains the largest biomass energy source today. It is used directly
as a fuel or processed into pellet fuel or other forms of fuels. Biomass also includes
plant or animal matter that can be converted into fuel, fibers, or industrial chemicals.
There are numerous types of plants, including corn, switchgrass, miscanthus, hemp,
sorghum, sugarcane, and bamboo.
The main waste energy feedstocks are wood waste, agricultural waste,
municipal solid waste, manufacturing waste, and landfill gas. Sewage sludge is
another source of biomass. There is ongoing research involving algae or algae-
derived biomass.
Other biomass feedstocks are enzymes or bacteria from various sources,
grown in cell cultures or hydroponics. Based on the source of biomass, biofuels are
classified broadly into two major categories: First-generation biofuels are derived
from food sources, such as sugarcane and corn starch. Sugars present in this
biomass are fermented to produce bioethanol, an alcohol fuel which serve as an
additive to gasoline, or in a fuel cell to produce electricity.
Second-generation biofuels utilize non-food-based biomass sources such as
perennial energy crops (low input crops), and agricultural/municipal waste. There
is huge potential for second generation biofuels, but the resources are currently
under-utilized.
1.2.3 Hydrogen
Hydrogen can be obtained from renewable (hydro, wind, wave, solar,
biomass and geothermal) and non-renewable source (coal, natural gas and nuclear).

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Among them, only biomass can produce hydrogen directly. Other renewable
sources must undergo electrolysis for hydrogen production. Hydrogen has the
potential to provide energy in transportation, distributed heat, and power
generation. Hydrogen can be form in liquid and gas form, besides that hydrogen
can be converted into thermal energy by combustion process. There are several
advantages from using hydrogen as an energy carrier. First, hydrogen can produce
electricity and heat using fuel cell. Second, hydrogen is characterized by high
efficiency and no pollutant emission (clean energy).

Figure 0.1 Hydrogen Production from Various Sources

(Source: Parthasarathy, et al. 2014)

Hydrogen from biomass is clean and renewable. Hydrogen from biomass

can reduce the amount of CO2 released to the atmosphere compared with hydrogen
from fossil fuels because CO2 released when the biomass is gasified was previously
absorbed from the atmosphere and fixed by photosynthesis in the growing plants.
Since biomass is renewable and consumes atmospheric CO2 during growth,
hydrogen from biomass can have a small net CO2 impact compared to hydrogen
from fossil fuels. Also, literature confirms that hydrogen obtained from biomass has
high-energy efficiency. However, hydrogen from biomass has major challenges.
The only significant emission from hydrogen is water vapor.
There are two methods of hydrogen production from biomass,
thermochemical and biochemical methods. Biochemical methods are very selective
about feed stocks, the methods require rich starch feed stocks and cannot treat

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lignocellulosic material. Biochemical methods still operated in batch process and

time-consuming. On the other hand, thermochemical methods allow a wide range
of feed stocks. Compared to biochemical process, the overall efficiency of the
thermochemical process is higher, and the production cost is lower. Therefore,
thermochemical conversion of biomass is one of the leading options for renewable
hydrogen production. Thermochemical processes are believed to be the most
promising solution for hydrogen production, such as combustion, pyrolysis, and
gasification.
Hydrogen can be physically stored as gas or liquid. Storage of hydrogen as
a gas typically requires a high-pressure tank (350–700 bar or 5,000–10,000 psi tank
pressure) as a compressed gas. Storage of hydrogen as a liquid requires a cryogenic
temperature because the boiling point of hydrogen at one atmospheric pressure is
−252.8°C. Hydrogen can also be stored on a solid surface or in a solid by either
absorbing or reacting with metals or chemical compounds or storing in an
alternative chemical form.
1.2.4 Gasification
Gasification is a process that is different from the combustion process or the
process of forming biogas. The difference between gasification and combustion lies
in the amount of oxygen used in the process and the product. The combustion
process uses oxygen that exceeds the stoichiometric requirements. Besides, the
products are heat energy and unburned gas. Meanwhile, the gasification process
highly depends on chemical reactions at temperatures above 700⁰C that
distinguishes it from biological processes such as anaerobic processes that produce
biogas.
Gasification is the process of converting carbon-containing materials such
as coal, petroleum, biomass, and plastic into carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen
(H) by reacting the raw materials used at high temperatures with a regulated amount
of oxygen. This process aims to convert the main elements of the fuel used into a
more easily flammable gas, leaving only ash and inert material remains.
The biomass gasification process is carried out by incomplete combustion
in a reactor at a high temperature. For incomplete combustion to occur, air with an
amount less than the stoichiometric requirement of combustion is flowed into the

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reactor to supply oxygen demand using a fan/blower. The combustion process that
occurs causes a thermo-chemical reaction that produces CO, H2, and methane gas
(CH4). Also, this process produces water vapor (H2O) and unburned carbon dioxide
(CO).
The biomass gasification process consists of several stages. The first stage
is pyrolysis, which occurs when biomass fuel begins to experience an increase in
temperature. At this stage, the water vapor contained in the biomass is released and
produces solids.
The second stage is the combustion process. At this stage, the volatiles and
some charcoal that contain carbon (C) react with oxygen to form CO2 and H2O and
produce heat for the next stage, the gasification stage. The combustion reactions
are:
1. C + ½ O2 → CO

2. CO + ½ O2 → CO2

3. H2 + ½ O2 → H2O
The next stage is the gasification stage. This stage occurs when charcoal
reacts with CO2 and water vapor to produce CO and H2 gases. Another step in this
process is the water-gas-shift reaction stage. Through this stage, the thermo-
chemical reaction that occurs in the gasification reactor reaches equilibrium. Some
of the CO formed in the reactor reacts with water vapor and forms CO2 and H2. If
the gasification process occurs at a temperature below 1000⁰C, a CH4 formation
reaction will occur. The chemical reactions that occur at this stage are:
1. C + CO2 → 2CO (Boudouard reaction)

2. C + H2O → CO + H2 (Water-gas reaction)

3. CO + H2O → CO2 + H2 (Water-gas-shift reaction)

4. CH4 + H2O → CO + 3H2 (Steam reforming of methane)

5. C + 2H2 → CH4 (Methanation of carbon)

The factors that influence the gasification process include:

1. The energy content of the fuel used

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Fuels with high energy content will provide better gas combustion.
2. Water content of the fuel used
Fuels with a lower humidity level are more manageable to classify than fuels
with higher humidity levels.
3. The shape and size of the fuel
Smaller fuel sizes require a fan/blower with a higher pressure.
4. Fuel size distribution
The distribution of fuel size that is not uniform will make the fuel used more
challenging to carbonize and affect the gasification process.
5. Gasification reactor temperature
The reactor temperature when the gasification process takes place
dramatically affects the production of the gas produced. For this reason, the
gasification reactor needs to be insulated to keep the temperature in the reactor
high.
1.3 Analysis
Analysis is needed as a parameter to consider several things. As with raw
materials, raw material analysis is required so that the plant designer has the
assessment parameters to determine suitable raw materials. Besides, market
analysis is also needed to determine the target production capacity of the plant.
Finally, analysis related to the location of the plant is also important because the
location of the factory affects several plants.
1.3.1 Raw Material Analysis
Biomass for hydrogen synthesis can be found from various source such as
agriculture crop residues, forest residues, special crops grown specifically for
energy use, organic municipal solid waste, and animal wastes. Biomass potential in
Indonesia that can be used as a raw material for hydrogen are TKKS (Tandan
Kosong Kelapa Sawit), wood chips, coconut shell, rice straw, vegetables waste,
grass, and agricultural waste. To choose the suitable raw material for our hydrogen
production some parameter that effect the hydrogen yield through gasification
process was compared. Parameters of biomass that effect the gasification process
and hydrogen synthesis, including:

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a. Size
Biomass particle size have a significant effect in gasification process.
The increase in biomass particle size have two effects that correlate with bulk
density of the raw biomass. Biomass particle size can affect combustion
temperature. At a certain size, the particle size can result high combustion
temperature, so the gasification process resulted lower biochar yield, burning
rate, and tar content due to relatively higher bulk density of the biomass.
b. Moisture Content
Biomass moisture content have significant effect on gasification
efficiency and product composition. The recommended water content
regardless the particularities of the raw materials employed is 15wt% for most
biomass sources. Low moisture content is needed to enable high temperature
to decompose tars, low ash level, to prevent slagging in the combustion zone
and to produce small and uniform particle size to ensure uniform bed. The
drier the biomass produce higher gasification efficiency that can increase
hydrogen content in the outlet gas. This is because when the water content is
high, there will be much heat in fuel to vaporize the water that can lower the
reactor’s temperature and slow down the endothermic reaction.
c. Volatile Matter
The volatile matter content is naturally high for many types of
biomass. This property makes biomass easy to ignite. The volatile matter from
biomass has a low LHV due to its high oxygen content. The amount of volatile
matter present is strongly dependent on the nature of the pyrolysed material
and the pyrolysis conditions, temperature, and heating rate. Biomass that has
high volatile matters undesirable because produced high tar content. High tar
content makes gas clean-up difficult. Ash content does not have direct
influence on the gas composition. However, it affects the practical operation
of gasifier.
d. Composition of Cellulose and Lignin
These components play a major role in the decomposition of biomass.
Generally, larger composition of cellulose and lignin yield more gaseous

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products. This in turn increases the potential of hydrogen recovery from

biomass.
e. Availability
Availability of raw materials is very important for the sustainability of
the factory. if the designed process is suitable, but the raw material is not
there, then the process cannot run. Therefore, the raw materials must be
available in sufficient quantities to be processed into finished goods.
f. Sustainability
Sustainability of raw materials will greatly affect future plant
production. Raw materials must be sustained. This can be seen from the use
of these raw materials in the future. If raw materials are materials that are
widely used in various aspects of life. This material is likely to continue to
be planted and harvested in the future.
1.3.2 Market and Product Capacity
1.3.2.1 Market
Hydrogen is projected to replace fossil fuel used in transportation, industrial
process, and household in the future. Based on ministry of industry presentation
file, government has Low Carbon Emission Program (LCEV) to support
achievement of the government targets to reduce GHGs according to Paris COP-
21’s, to support achievement of the National Energy Mix targets in 2025 & 2050,
and to support the development of auto industry in accordance with global trends.
One of this program is to use hydrogen in automotive as fuel cell emission
technology.
1.3.2.2 Production Capacity
According to ERIA (Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East
Asia), Indonesia has the largest hydrogen demand potential amongst ASEAN
member countries, followed by Malaysia and Vietnam.

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Figure 0.2 Summary of Assumptions/Scenarios

(Source: https://www.eria.org/uploads/media/9.RPR_FY2018_01_Chapter_3.pdf)

Hydrogen demand potential in Indonesia is estimated to be 2.9 Mtoe in

Scenario 1, 6.6 Mtoe in Scenario 2, and 11.1 Mtoe in Scenario 3. Indonesia has the
largest potential in ASEAN and the third-largest potential in the East Asia Summit
(EAS) region. Figure below shows the hydrogen demand potential by sector of
Indonesia.

Figure 0.3 Hydrogen Demand Potential by Sector in Indonesia

(Source: https://www.eria.org/uploads/media/9.RPR_FY2018_01_Chapter_3.pdf)

We limit the demand for hydrogen only to the need for hydrogen for fuel
cells in vehicles. Based on that, the hydrogen demand potential for PFCV
(Passenger fuel cell vehicles) in Indonesia for 2040 is 0.3 for scenario 1, 1.4 for
scenario 2 and 2.7 for scenario 3 (in Mtoe). From HyWeb Hydrogen data, 1 kg
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hydrogen is equivalent to 2.75 kg gasoline. We assume that in 2040 hopefully the

scenario that will be realized is scenario 3. Therefore, the calculation is done to
convert 2.7 Mtoe to kg hydrogen, that shown below:
2.7 𝑀𝑡𝑜𝑒
𝑡𝑜𝑒 𝑘𝑊ℎ 1 𝑘𝑔 𝑔𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 1 𝑘𝑔 ℎ𝑦𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑛
= 2.7 𝑀𝑡𝑜𝑒 𝑥 1000 𝑥 11630 𝑥 𝑥
𝑀𝑡𝑜𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑒 5.47 𝑘𝑊ℎ 2.75 𝑘𝑔 𝑔𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒
= 2,087,485.5 𝑘𝑔 ≈ 2087.5 𝑡𝑜𝑛
We target to take 5% of the market in 2040 so our plant production capacity
is equal to 104,4 ton/years.
1.3.3 Plant Location Analysis
Plant location is an important factor when setting up a plant. Indirectly, the
location of the plant will have a significant impact on the costs of production and
product distribution. In determining the location of the plant, there are several
aspects that need to be considered, including the supply of raw materials,
transportation, availability of workers, minimum wage for employees, availability
of utilities, security, easy access, and government regulations. Based on the
consideration above, we decided to build the plant in Namu Gajah, Medan
Tuntungan District, Medan City, North Sumatera. The location was chosen as our
plant location because of its location fulfilled some aspects.

Figure 0.4 Plant Location for Hydrogen Production

(Source: Google Earth, 2020)

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a. Access to Raw Material

The raw material for the hydrogen production plant is sawdust so that
our plant located in an island with the largest wood production in Indonesia.
This aims to facilitate the transportation of main raw materials and minimize
any disturbances during the transportation of raw materials that can cause
disruption to plant production and to streamline the cost of transportation. Here
are production of logs in Indonesian per quarter.

Table 1. 1. Wood Production Capacities in Indonesia

Wood Production Capacity
Island in Indonesia
(million m3/quarter)
Sumatra 25.95
Kalimantan 10.18
Jawa 4.16
Maluku & Papua 1.70
Sulawesi 0.22
Bali & Nusa Tenggara 0.04
(Source: Badan Pusat Statistik, 2017)
Based on origin island where logs were produced, from 42.25 million
m³ of Indonesian logs production, as many as 25.95 million m³ (61.43 percent)
of logs was produced in Sumatra island (Badan Pusat Statistik, 2017).
b. Infrastructure and Transportation Facilities
The selected location has guaranteed access to transportation and
infrastructure. The plant location is easily accessible from both land and sea
routes because it is close to the South Medan ring road and the distance between
the raw material supplier and the factory is not too far.
c. Social Aspect
The plant location is far from residential areas so that the factory waste
does not endanger the population. This location far from settlements allows
noise pollution, water, and factory waste to not endanger the population.
d. Labor
Based on data from the Badan Pusat Statistik, North Sumatra has
populations of 14,562,549 people in 2020, the percentage of productive workers
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in the area is as big as 66.7% and the number of workers is as much 47.7% so
that the rest of the population who are in the productive group but are not yet
working can be used as workers in plant, so that in addition to gain profit, the
plant also opens jobs in North Sumatra.
e. Regulations by Local Government
Regulations by local government is important factor for ensuring plant
stability, land permits, business status and others.

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 CHAPTER II
PROCESS SELECTION
2.1. Process Selection
2.1.1 Raw Material Selection
Based on the explanation in chapter I, the raw material selection will be
selected by comparing the potential source of Biomass with criterion explained in
raw material analysis. The potential source of biomass is TKKS (Tandan Kosong
Kelapa Sawit), sugarcane bagasse, pine sawdust, straw, and coconut shell. Table
2.1 shows the comparison.

Table 0.1 Benchmark of Biomass Source

Biomass
Criterion Sugarcane Pine Coconut
TKKS Straw
bagasse sawdust Shell
Size (mm) 0.3 1.8 0.17 0.417 1.19
Moisture Content
55.60 3.62 11.70 10 12
(%wt)
Volatile Matter (%wt) 82.58 70.40 74.52 60.7 68.62
Cellulose (%wt) 36.57 50 40 33.4 34
Lignin (%wt) 25.83 25 30 7.4 27
Availability (million
25 53.6 8.3 49 3.5
ton/year)
Sustainability 2 3 3 2 4
(Source: Various References, 2020)

To determine the correct source of biomass, a selection was carried out

using the scoring method. Each criterion will be scored from number 1 to 5. The
detail of each criterion is shown in Table 2.2 and the result of process selection is
shown in Table 2.3.

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Table 0.2 Criteria Detail for Biomass Selection

Score
Criterion
1 2 3 4 5
Size (mm) >1 0.75-1 0.5-0.75 0.25-0.5 0-0,25
Moisture Content >40 31-40 21-30 11-20 1-10
(%wt)
Volatile Matter >80 74-80 70-74 65-69 60-64
(%wt)
Cellulose (%wt) <19 20-29 30-39 40-49 >50
Lignin (%wt) <10 10-15 15-20 20-25 25-30
Availability
<5 5-20 20-35 35-50 >50
(million ton/year)
Used by
Used by Used by Not used
more Used by 1
Sustainability 3 2 by any
than 4 industry
industries industries industries
industries

Table 0.3 The Result of Biomass Selection

Biomass
Parameters Sugarcane Pine Coconut
TKKS Straw
bagasse sawdust Shell
Size (mm) 4 1 5 4 1
Moisture Content (%wt) 1 5 4 5 4
Volatile Matter (%wt) 1 3 3 5 4
Cellulose (%wt) 3 5 4 3 3
Lignin (%wt) 5 4 5 1 5
Availability (million
3 5 2 4 1
ton/year)
Sustainability 3 2 3 3 1
Total 20 25 26 25 19

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Based on selection, the selected source of biomass is the one that get the
highest score. So, the biomass that we use in this process is pine sawdust.
2.1.2 Process Production Selection
2.1.2.1 Gasification Reactor
Gasifiers or gasification reactor is divided into two principal types: fixed
beds and fluidized beds. The third type, the entrained suspension gasifier. The third
type is not recommended for fibrous materials. Because at this time we are using
biomass, we will consider the fixed bed and fluidized bed reactor for the gasification
process.
2.1.2.2 Fixed Bed Gasifiers
Fixed bed gasifiers are the most common reactors to synthesize syngas.
Small-scale (lower than 10 MW) fixed-bed gasifiers with high thermal efficiency
are in use for decentralized power generation and thermal application in many
industries. Fixed-bed gasifiers are easy construction and simple operation.
Depending upon the direction and entry of airflow, the gasifiers are classified as
updraft or downdraft.
a. Updraft Gasifier
In an updraft gasifier, biomass is fed from the top of the gasifier, while air,
oxygen, or steam is supplied at the bottom. At the top of the gasifier, the fed biomass
gets dried and it passes through the pyrolysis, where the feed is decomposed to
volatiles, tar, and char. At the gasifying medium enters the bottom of the bed, it
meets hot ash, and unconverted chars descending from the top and complete
combustion take place, producing H2O and CO2 while also raising the temperature.
The released heat will heat the upward moving gas as well as the descending solid.
Updraft gasifier is not appropriate for many advanced applications, due to the
production of 10-20% wt tar in the produced gas. The producer gas leaving from
the top of the gasifier is accompanied by a high amount of tar and moisture.
Operating temperature varies from a minimum of 650-700 ℃ to a maximum of 950-
1150 ℃.
b. Downdraft Gasifier
In a downdraft gasifier, both biomass and the air, oxygen, or steam move in
the downward direction in the lower section of the gasifier unit. The product gases

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leave at a point just below the grate of the gasifier, which enables partial cracking
of the formed tar, and hence a gas with low tar content is produced. Downdraft
gasifier produces a low concentration of particulates and tars as most of the tars are
combusted in the gasifier. Operating temperature varies from a minimum of 900℃
to a maximum of 1000-1050 ℃ . The disadvantage of this gasifier includes a
relatively low overall thermal efficiency and difficulties in handling biomass with
high moisture and ash content.
2.1.2.3 Fluidized Bed Gasifiers
Fluidized beds are can be used for biomass combustion, due to their
flexibility in terms of the type of fuel and high efficiency. The advantage of this
gasifier is the uniform temperature distribution in the reduction zone. This
temperature uniformity is accomplished using a bed of fine granular material (e.g.
sand) into which air is circulated, fluidizing bed. Two main types of fluidized bed
gasifier are in current use: circulating fluidized bed and bubbling bed.
a. Circulating Fluidized Bed Gasifier
Is based on the mechanism of continuous circulation of the bed material
between the reaction vessel and a cyclone separator, where the ash is separated, and
the bed material and char return to the reaction vessel. These gasifiers can cope with
high capacity of biomass, can be operated at high pressures. Output gases produced
are delivered at gas turbine operating pressure without requiring further
compression.
b. Bubbling Fluidized Bed Gasifier
The air is fed from the bottom of the reactor through the grate. The fine bed
material is placed above the grate into which the biomass feed is introduced. The
operating temperature is maintained between 700 and 900℃ by controlling the
steam/biomass ratio. The biomass is pyrolyzed in the hotbed forming char, gaseous
compounds, and tar.
The main characteristics and performance of gasifiers are summarized
below.

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Table 0.4 Characteristics and Performance of Gasification Reactors

Flows Gasification Cold Gas Char Tar

Gasifier Type Biomass Gasifying Temperature Efficiency Conversion Content
Agent (℃) (%) (%) (g/Nm3)
Updraft gasifier Downward Upward 950-1150 (max value) 20-60 40-85 1-150
Syngas exit temperature:
150-400
Downdraft gasifier Downward Downward 950-1050 (max value) 30-60 <85 0.015-1.5
Syngas exit temperature:
700
Bubbling fluidized bed Upward Upward 700-900 <70 <70 1-3
gasifier
Circulating fluidized bed Upward Upward 750-850 50-70 <85 5-12
gasifier
(Source: Various References, 2020)

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To determine the correct reactor for gasification, a selection was carried out
using the scoring method. There are 4 criteria considered in process selection. They
are gasification temperature, cold gas efficiency, char conversion, and tar content.
Each criterion will be scored from number 1 to 4. The detail of each criterion is
shown in Table 2.5. and the result of process selection is shown in Table 2.6.

Table 0.5 Criteria for Gasification Reactor Selection

Score
Criteria
1 2 3 4
Temperature (℃) 1050-1200 950-1050 850-950 750-850
Cold gas efficiency (%) < 40 40-60 60-80 80-100
Char Conversion (%) < 40 40-60 60-80 80-100
Tar Content (g/Nm3) 50-150 20-50 5-20 0.015-5

Table 0.6 The Result of Gasification Reactor Selection

Updraft Downdraft
Criteria CFB BFB
Reactor Reactor
Temperature (℃) 1 2 4 4
Cold gas efficiency (%) 2 2 3 3
Char Conversion (%) 3 3 3 3
Tar Content (g/Nm3) 1 3 3 4
Total 7 10 13 14

Based on selection, the reactor that gets the high score is the circulating
fluidized bed reactor. Gasification using BFB reactor relatively work on low
temperature, has decent cold gas efficiency, produce high char conversion and low
tar content.
2.1.2.4 Gasification Agent
Gasification is a process to convert carbonaceous material into gas by using
a gasifying agent. The gasifying agent, which is normally a gas such as oxygen, air
or steam, is an indispensable medium for biomass gasification. The selectivity of
the gasification reactions varies with different gasifying agent, thus affecting the

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composition and LHV of produced gas. The following provides a brief description
of each process.
a. Steam-O2
Gasification with combination of steam and oxygen can also be used to
enhance syngas quality while providing the needed energy for the exothermic
nature of biomass burning. Steam-O2 mixture can also reduce the nitrogen content
of the produced gas and will increase its heating value. CO content was higher than
H2 content.
b. Air
Gasification with air is not a complex method: however, the produced gas
possesses a low heating value of primarily approximately (3.5-6 MJ m-3), with little
amount of hydrogen of only 5-16.3 (vol%) and high amount of nitrogen. This
method is widely used compared to oxygen and steam because of its economic and
operational advantage.
c. Steam
The use of steam as a gasifying agent need an external heat source if it is
used alone as a gasifying agent. The provided steam will enhance gas quality; it
enhances hydrogen content and heating value. The high temperature will enhance
the devolatilization process of biomass to produce gas. Steam will react with carbon
monoxide to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Steam gasification processes
are also able to produce gas with possessing heating value of about 10 MJ m-3,
hydrogen content of about 38-56 (vol%), and CO content of about 17-32 (vol%).

Table 0.7 Criteria for Gasifying Agent Selection

Score
Criteria
1 2 3
H2 Content (vol%) 5-22 22-39 39-59
CO content (vol%) 37-52 22-37 7-22
N2 content (vol%) 42-63 21-42 0-21
Energy consumption High Medium Low
Economic value High Cost Medium Low Cost
Availability Scarce Moderate Abundant

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Table 0.8 The Result of Gasification Reactor Selection

Criteria Steam-O2 Air Steam
H2 content (vol%) 2 1 3
CO content (vol%) 1 3 2
N2 content (vol%) 3 1 3
Energy consumption 2 2 1
Economic value 1 3 2
Availability 2 3 3
Total 11 13 14

Based on selection, the gasifying agent that gets high score is the circulating
steam. Gasification with steam will enhance gas quality; it enhances hydrogen and
without nitrogen.
2.1.3 Catalyst selection
The presence of Catalyst plays important role for hydrogen production from
biomass gasification. It can increase the hydrogen concentration in product also
decrease the concentration of carbon-dioxide by convert it to hydrogen. Besides,
catalyst can increase the yield of hydrogen too. Different kind of catalyst used in
biomass gasification has been published in many literatures. So, we made the
criterion for the selection process to select the best catalyst for our process. The
catalyst criterions are:
a. H2 Content
The most important criterion is hydrogen content because it signifies the
purity of product. The desired product is the one that contain high H2 content.
The use of catalyst is for increase the content of H2 in product.
b. Carbon-dioxide Concentration
From gasification process, there are also CO2 content in product by
water-gas-shift reaction. The presence of CO2 content will make product less
pure. So, the use of catalyst is decreased the CO2 content in product and convert
it to H2 content that will make the product purer. By converting CO2 into H2, it
will increase the efficiency of process to produce H2.
c. Hydrogen Yield

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Another important criterion to be evaluated is the yield of hydrogen in

product. Besides H2 content, the yield of hydrogen also important. The more
yield produces means the conversion rate of hydrogen increased and produce
more of desired product. The function catalyst also increased the conversion
rate so the yield of desired product increased.
d. Operating Condition
Operating condition is related to energy (utility) needed, the cost of
equipment, and extra operational cost. The higher the operating condition, the
more expensive the material of process equipment. Based on process selection,
the optimum temperature for gasification is 700-900⁰C at atmospheric pressure.
Table 2.9. shows the value of some parameters reviewed in biomass
gasification using some catalyst, so the performance of catalyst can be evaluated.

Table 0.9 Value of Catalyst Performance

Catalyst
Parameters Calcined nano-NiLaFe/γ-
CaOa
dolomiteb Al2O3b
H2 Content (vol%) 62 40.6 53.6
CO2 Content (vol%) 13 26.6 20.9
H2 Yield (g H2/kg
72 52.98 101.78
biomass)

Operating Condition
740, 1 800, 1 800, 1
(⁰C, atm)
(Source: aHan et al., 2011; bLi et al., 2009)

To determine the best catalyst based on several criteria, a selection was

carried out using the scoring method. Each criterion will be scored from number 1
to 5. The detail of each criterion is shown in Table 2.10. and the result of process
selection is shown in Table 2.11.

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Table 0.10 Scoring Criteria for Catalyst Selection

Score
Criteria
1 2 3 4 5
H2 Content (vol%) <20 21-40 41-60 61-80 >80
CO2 content (vol%) >80 61-80 41-60 21-40 <20
H2 Yield (g H2/kg
<20 21-40 41-60 61-80 >80
biomass)
Operating Condition 301–500, 501- 701- 801-
<300, 1
(⁰C, atm) 1 700, 1 800, 1 900, 1

Table 0.11 Result for Catalyst Selection

nano-
Weight Calcined
Criteria CaO NiLaFe/γ-
(%) dolomite
Al2O3
H2 Content 30 4 3 3
CO2 content 20 5 4 4
H2 Yield 30 4 3 5
Operating Condition 20 4 4 4
Total 100 4.2 3.4 4

The best catalyst for biomass gasification is the one that get the most high
score and the catalyst is CaO. By using CaO as sorbent, the purity of hydrogen
increased more than 30 vol.% compared to the process without CaO. Moreover,
CaO not only captures CO2 from the system, but also increases the efficiency of the
system due to the exothermic nature of carbonation reaction. the water gas shift
reaction moves in the forward direction due to the low partial pressure of CO2 in
the system, as CaO absorbs the CO2.
2.2. Process Synthesis
In order to produced high yield hydrogen from biomass, the reaction are as
follows.
Char Gasification: C + H2 O → CO + H2
Boudouard: C + CO2 → 2CO

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Methanation: C + 2H2 → CH4

Steam Reforming: CH4 + H2O → CO + 3H2
Water Gas Shift: CO + H2O → CO2 + H2
One possible flowsheet for the process is shown in below figure. Usually
feeds in the gasification process are biomass, oxygen, and steam. In order to
increase the ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide, oxygen will not be used because
the objective is to produce as much hydrogen. But on the other hand, steam
gasification produces more tar compared to other gasification system. The biomass
is dried and then feed into the reactor with steam. Firstly, the biomass is dried to
reduce the moisture content because moisture content affects the gasification
process as stated in the raw material analysis. Besides that, CaO and hot sand also
feed to the reactor. Hot sand will supply heat for the endothermic reaction in the
gasification reactor. And CaO acts as CO2 absorbent.
Biomass is heated directly in the gasification process. The feed stream
contains solid particle, so heat transfer is much more rapid and controllable when
using direct heat exchanger. Therefore, the stream of solid particles are heated by
direct contact with a hot gas, respectively, using a fluidized bed. The gasification
reactor is fluidized bed dryer based on heuristic 33. The product stream leaving the
reactor contain hydrogen, CaCO3, sand, CO2, CH4, char, and CO. We separate the
char, CaCO3, and sand from the stream by using cyclone separator and the
unreacted char, CaCO3, and sand will be feed to the furnace. In the furnace, there
will be combustion process of unreacted char with air and the hot sand recycled to
the gasification. Besides that, calcination reaction also occurs in the furnace that
convert CaCO3 to CaO. The calcination reaction is:
CaCO3 → CaO + CO2
Product from the furnace will be separated in the gas cyclone to take the hot
sand and CaO from the gas. Ash from the stream will be separated through gas
cyclone and take out from the bottom of the cyclone. The furnace needs air,
therefore air is supply to the heat exchanger then furnace. Steam for the gasification
process is made from water supply that is heated by evaporator.
Gas from the furnace will directed to the heat recovery. In order to yield
more hydrogen CaO is used. CaO acts as CO2 sorbent in the reactor. CaO absorb

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CO2 so the hydrogen yield will be increased. Moreover, CaO also increases the
efficiency of the system due to the exothermic reaction nature of carbonation
reaction. With this CaO, the gas shift reaction will move in the forward direction
because the reduction of CO2 in the system. This used the nature of reversible
reaction. H2 produced will be increased. Catalyst is needed in gasification process,
there is no additional catalyst in this process because CaO can also acts as a catalyst
that give strong impact in the water gas shift reaction rather than steam reforming
of methane. As the result, there will be more CO2 produced rather than CO. In this
process, steam will be added to promote char gasification and water gas steam
reaction to produce more hydrogen.
Based on heuristic 23 (Heat addition for endothermic reaction), to control
temperature for a highly endothermic heat of reaction, consider the use of excess
reactant, an inert diluent, or hot shots. Therefore, excess reactants such as CO and
CH4 that can be converted to H2 through water gas shift reaction and stream
reforming are recycled to the reactor to decrease the effluent temperature.
Hydrogen must be cooled before it is compressed. To ensure that the gas
can continue to move smoothly through the pipeline and flow to the customer,
compressor is needed to compress the hydrogen. Besides that, because this
hydrogen will be used for mobile hydrogen storage in hydrogen vehicles, the
hydrogen must be compressed to used it as a fuel gas to increase the storage density.
Compressor is selected rather than fan or blower because the attain pressure is
greater than 206 kPa (Heuristic 34).

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2.3. Block Flow Diagram

The block flow diagram of hydrogen synthesis by biomass gasification process will be shown below.

Figure 0.1 Block Flow Diagram of Hydrogen Synthesis

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2.4. Process Flow Diagram

The process flow diagram of hydrogen synthesis by biomass gasification process will be shown below.

Figure 0.2 Process Flow Diagram of Hydrogen Synthesis

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Figure 0.3 Process Flow Diagram of Steam Utility

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Figure 0.4 Process Flow Diagram of Water Cooling utility

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Figure 0.5 Process Flow Diagram of Waste Water Treatment utility

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2.5. Product Specification and Comparison to Others

The desired product for this process is hydrogen for alternative fuel in
future. There are several commonly used alternatives for fuel, such as natural gas,
propane, and gasoline vapor. To know the advantages of our product also the
purpose of our process, we compare hydrogen with other alternative for fuel. Table
2.12. shows the comparison of hydrogen to other alternative.

Table 0.12 Comparison Hydrogen to Others

Natural Gasoline
No Property Propane Hydrogen
Gas Vapor
Relative Vapor
1 0.55 1.52 4.0 0.07
Density
Auto Ignition
2 1003 914 450 1085
Temperature (⁰F)
Flammability Range
3 5-15 2.1-10.1 1.4-7.6 4-75
(vol% in air)
Minimum Ignition
4 0.29 0.26 0.24 0.02
Energy (mJ)
(Source: H2tools.org)

Based on the table, hydrogen is about 57 times lighter than gasoline vapor
and 14 times lighter than air. This means that if it is released in an open
environment, it will typically rise and disperse rapidly. This is a safety advantage
in an outside environment. The auto-ignition temperature of a substance is the
lowest temperature at which it will spontaneously ignite without the presence of a
flame or spark. The auto-ignition temperatures of hydrogen and natural gas are very
similar. Both have auto-ignition temperatures over 1000°F, much higher than the
auto-ignition temperature of gasoline vapor. Hydrogen's flammability range is very
wide compared to other fuels. The optimal combustion is 29% hydrogen-to-air
volume ratio. Under the optimal combustion condition, the energy required to
initiate hydrogen combustion is much lower than that required for other common
fuels. But at low concentrations of hydrogen in air, the energy required to initiate
combustion is similar to that of other fuels.

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To understand and know the advantage of hydrogen’s characteristics, we

also compare some typical properties of hydrogen to methane and gasoline. Table
2.13. shows the comparison of hydrogen to methane and gasoline.

Table 0.13 Comparison Hydrogen to Methane and Gasoline

Property Hydrogen (H2) Methane (CH4) Gasoline

Normal boiling
-253 -162 37 - 205
point1 (NBP) [°C]
Physical state at
Gas Gas Liquid
25°C, 1 atm
Heating Values
LHV (kJ/g) 120 50 44.5
HHV (kJ/g) 142 55.5 48
Quenching distance
0.64 2.0 2.0
[mm]
Molecular weight 2.02 16.0 ~107
Flame temperature in
2045 1875 2200
air3 [°C]

Density at NBP (g/L) 70.8 423 ~700

Vapor specific
gravity at 25°C, 1atm 0.070 0.54 3.7
(air=1)
(Source: H2tools.org)

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MASS AND ENERGY BALANCE
3.1. Mass Balance
3.1.1. Reaction Process
1) Overall Mass Balance
Table 0.1 Overall Mass Balance
Mass (kg/h)
Component
In Out
Biomass 13.604 0
SiO2 0.18 0.18
ASH 0 3.023
C 0 0
H2 0 1.783
O2 0 0.393
N2 0 1.512
S 0 0
H2O 0.706 0.454
CaO 0.09 0.020
CaCO3 0 0.112
CO 0 0
CO2 0 5.489
CH4 0 0
H2S 0 1.607
Total 14.58 14.58

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2) Mass Balance for Each Equipment

Table 0.2 Mass Balance for Each Equipment

P-101 E-101 R-101 V-101

Component Mass (kg/h) Mass (kg/h) Mass (kg/h) Mass (kg/h)
In Out In Out In Out In Out
Biomass 0 0 0 0 13.604 0 13.604 0 0 0
SiO2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ASH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.023 0 0
C 0 0 0 0 0 1.512 0 1.512 0 0
H2 0 0 0 0 0 1.512 0 1.512 0 0
O2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.512 0 0
N2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.512 0 0
S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.512 0 0
H2O 0.706 0.252 0.252 0.252 0 0 0 3.923 0.706 0.252
CaO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CaCO3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CO2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CH4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
H2S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

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Table 3.2 Mass Balance for Each Equipment (con’t)

X-101 R-102 A-101 R-103

Component Mass (kg/hr) Mass (kg/hr) Mass (kg/hr) Mass (kg/hr)
In Out In Out In Out In Out
Stream Steam Elem2 Sand Elem3 CaOF Elem3 Prodgas Prodgas H2 Solid Solid Air Gas
Biomass 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SiO2 0 0 0.180 0.180 0 0.180 0.18 0.18 0.126 0.054 0.054 0 0.054
ASH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
C 0 1.512 0 1.512 0 1.512 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
H2 0 1.512 0 1.512 0 1.512 1.783 1.783 1.783 0 0 0 0
O2 0 1.512 0 1.512 0 1.512 0.393 0.393 0.393 0 0 0 0
N2 0 1.512 0 1.512 0 1.512 1.512 1.512 1.512 0 0 0 0
S 0 1.512 0 1.512 0 1.512 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
H2 O 0.252 3.023 0 3.275 0 3.275 0 0 0 0 0 0.454 0.454
CaO 0 0 0 0 0.090 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.027
CaCO3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.161 0.161 0.112 0.0482 0.048 0 0
CO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CO2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.468 5.468 5.468 0 0 0 0.021
CH4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
H2 S 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.607 1.607 1.607 0 0 0 0

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Table 3.2 Mass Balance for Each Equipment (con’t)

A-102 A-103 E-102 C-101

Component Mass (kg/hr) Mass (kg/hr) Mass (kg/hr) Mass (kg/hr)
In Out In Out In Out In Out
Stream Gas Charcao Sand Charcao Char Chao H2 H2cooled H2cooled H2comp
Biomass 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SiO2 0.054 0.027 0.027 0.027 0.014 0.014 0.126 0.126 0.126 0.126
ASH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
C 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
H2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.783 1.783 1.783 1.783
O2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.393 0.393 0.393 0.393
N2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.511 1.512 1.512 1.512
S 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
H2 O 0.454 0.454 0 0.454 0.454 0 0 0 0 0
CaO 0.027 0.014 0.014 0.014 0.007 0.007 0 0 0 0
CaCO3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.112 0.112 0.112 0.112
CO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CO2 0.022 0.021 0 0.021 0.021 0 5.468 5.468 5.468 5.468
CH4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

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3.2. Energy Balance

From process flow diagram in previous chapter, mass and energy balance for this
plant can be calculated. Energy balance is calculated using simulators Aspen Plus.
Overall Energy balance of our plant is shown in the table below.

Table 0.3 Overall Energy Balance

Enthalphy Flow Enthalpy Flow Heat Duty

No. Equipment
In (cal/sec) Out (cal/sec) (cal/sec)
1 R-101 -5502.33 127.39 5629.72
2 V-101 127.39 121.44 -5.95
3 P-101 -266.88 -266.75 0.13
4 E-101 -266.75 -218.92 47.83
5 X-101 -132.55 -271.60 -139.05
6 R-102 -271.60 -1896.17 -1624.57
7 A-101 -1896.17 -1896.17 0.00
8 R-103 -464.51 -436.96 27.55
9 A-102 -436.96 -436.96 0.00
10 A-103 -401.89 -401.89 0.00
11 E-102 -1808.59 -3354.68 -1546.09
12 C-101 -3354.68 -1954.70 1399.98
Total -14675.52 -10885.98 3789.54

The overall energy balance is shown below.

𝐸𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑝𝑦𝑖𝑛 − 𝐸𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑝𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑡 + 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝐷𝑢𝑡𝑦 = 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑠
cal cal cal
−14675.52 − (−10885.98 ) + 3789.54 =𝟎
sec sec sec
3.3. Product Conversion Efficiency
The product conversion efficiency is determined by the production of usable
product stream by combination of raw materials. In this process, it is calculated by
the amount of hydrogen and side product produce per amount of biomass.
𝑚̇ℎ𝑦𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑛 + 𝑚̇𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡
𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 =
𝑚̇𝑏𝑖𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠
1.512 𝑘𝑔 + 0.4950 𝑘𝑔
= = 0.1475 = 14.75%
13.604 𝑘𝑔
3.4. Yield
Yield is reviewed by how much hydrogen could be produced per amount of
biomass used.

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𝑚̇ℎ𝑦𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑛 1.512 𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔ℎ𝑦𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑛

𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 = = = 0.1111
𝑚̇𝑏𝑖𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 13.604 𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔𝑏𝑖𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠
3.5. Energy Consumption
The energy consumption per unit product can be calculated by the amount
of energy per amount of hydrogen produced in this process.
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝐷𝑢𝑡𝑦
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 =
𝑚ℎ𝑦𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑛
3741.5808 𝑐𝑎𝑙/𝑠𝑒𝑐 3600 𝑠𝑒𝑐
= 𝑥
1.512 𝑘𝑔 1 ℎ𝑟
𝑐𝑎𝑙
= 8908525.7
𝑘𝑔 ℎ𝑦𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑛

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 CHAPTER IV
PLANT UTILITY
To operate this plant, some support unit or commonly referred to as utulity
is needed. This utility is separated from the main proces unit and has very important
role for the main process of the plant. The required utilities are water, electricity,
fuel, and waste treatment.
4.1 Water
4.1.1 Cooling Water
Water is one most important thing that must be provided by a plant. In this
plant, water is needed to be heated to make steam for gasification process and
cooling. In gasification process water is heated in heater E-101 and cooling water
in cooler E-102. This water required must be calculated to determine how much
water is needed by the plant as a requirement for cooling water. The cooling water
requirement is 2649.0168 kg/day.
4.1.2 Steam
There are heating system in this biomass gasification for synthesis
hydrogen. In this plant, we need a steam for gasifying agent to produce high
hydrogen content. The steam will be heated by boiler then supplied to the
equipment. In this process, water is heating in E-101. For the calculation, this
gasificatoin uses Low Pressure Steam beacuse the pressure of the steam is below
50 psig (3.5 barg). The conventions of low, medium an high pressure steam
according to the pressure and temperature of the steam. Steam below 50 psig (3.5
barg) is termed as low pressure steam, steam above 50 psig (3.5 barg) until 250 psig
(17.5 barg) is termed as medium pressure steam, steam above 250 psig (17.5 barg)
is termed as high pressure steam, and steam above 600 psig (40 barg) can be defined
as ultra-high pressure steam.
Steam required must be calculate to determine how much ateam is needed
by the plant as a requirement for gasifying agent. Steam requirement for this plant
is 6.048 kg/day.
4.2 Water Treatment
The biggest water demand that will be used as cooling water and steam
comes from the lake. The water to be used as a boiler feed can be obtained from the

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nearest lake in the plant area. The requirements that must be met as boiler feed water
are very strict, among other things, it is not corrosive, does not cause scale
formation, and does not cause foam formation. The water purification method can
be done using reverse osmosis and ion exchange. The purification process begins
with pretreatment of the feed water (water from the lake), by passing it through the
cartridge filter. After adjusting the operating pressure using a pressure regulating
valve, the feed solution is flowed by the pump through the membrane module and
then the ion exchange column. The product water obtained is collected in the
product tank. The standard quality of boiler feed water is listed in the table below.

Table 4.1 Boiler Feed Water Standard

Parameter Standard
PH 10,5-11,5
Conductivity 5000 Ymhos/cm (max)
TDS 3500 ppm (max)
M- Alkalinity 800 ppm (max)
O – Alkalinity 2,5 x SiO2 ppm (min)
Silica 150 ppm (max)
Besi 2 PPM (max)
SulpHite residual 20,50 ppm
PH Condensate 8,0 – 9,0
(source : Various References, 2020)

4.3 Electricity
In operate the plant, electricity is needed for some of the equipment to work.
There are a few calculation needed to know jow much electricity the industry
demand will determine the amount of energy needed and supply at the plant. To
fulfill the electricity requirement, the plant supplies electricity from the Perusahan
Listrik Negara (PLN). In the plant, the operating time is 24 hour with 315 working
days per year. The energy needed in each unit by equipment in this plant for an hour
is listed in the table below.

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Table 4.2 Electricity

Energy
Usage Time
Unit Code Power (kW) Required per
(h)
day (kWh)
Separator V-101 8 24 192
Pump P-101 4 24 96
Mixer X-101 6 24 144
Compressor C-101 37 24 888
Total Electricity Need per Day (kWh) 1320
Working Day/Year 315
Total Electricity Need per Year (MWy) 415.8

4.4 Fuel
In this plant fuel is needed to generate power for fire heater and steam
generation process. Several type of fuel can be used, ranging from solid fuel, liquid
fuel, and gas fuel. But in this plant, the fuel that used is natural gas, because it is
readily available, cleanly burnt, and is typically less expensive than other fuel. To
determine the number of fuel needed in this plant, a calculation was done.
For the heater in this plant, the mass flow rate of steam needed is known
from calculation in the previous section, with heating value of natural gas is
approximately 45,938.5 kJ/kg and also the specific latent heat of steam is 1,781.2
kJ/kg. The assumed burning efficiency is taken to be 0.85. From these data, we can
know calculate the amount of fuel needed for boiler in steam generation process.

Meanwhile for fire heater, assuming that burning efficiency inside the fire
heater is equal to 0.85, a calculation of fuel mass flow needed for the operation can
be done by applying this following equation:

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From two types of calculation to approach fuel need for fire heater
equipment and steam generator, the total fuel requirement for this plant can be
shown in the table below.

Table 4.3 Fuel Requirement

4.5 Waste Treatment

There are two types of wastes that are present in the plant. Firstly, there is a
waste which was produced by reaction but does not get recycled to the reactor in
the plant which is CO2. It is going to be release slowly to the air via the ventilation
above with the help of fan and air filter
The second type of waste is waste from wastewater treatment. It is from
reverse osmosis filtration. It is usually in the form of sand, pebbles, and other small
materials from lake water. It is usually collected and then threw to normal waste
bin. Another kind of wastes from unreacted reactants are usually recycled back to
reactor for further process.

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 CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION
Based on the report, the following conclusion can be made:
• The reactor for gasification in this plant is bubbling fluidized bed.
• The gasifying agent for produce hydrogen we choose steam that can produce
high content of H2.
• The catalyst for produce hydrogen from biomass gasification is CaO.
• The plant will be built in Namu Gajah, Medan Tuntungan District, Medan City,
North Sumatera with the main consideration of proximity to raw materials and
has guaranteed access to transportation and infrastructure.
• Water need for this plant is supplied by a lake near the plant area, the water
treatment is reverse osmosis and ion exchange.
• Yield of this process is 11.11 %
• Production conversion efficiency and energy consumption are 14.75% and
8908525.7 cal/kg hydrogen The electricity needs for this plant is 415.8 MWy
and it will be supplied by PLN.
• The required utilities are water such as cooling water and steam, electricity for
separator, mixer, pump and compressor, fuel and waste treatment
• There are five utilities in this plant, water (steam and cooling water), water
treatment, electricity, fuel, and waste treatment.

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