report on Hydrogen production research in Mexico: A review

A REPORT ON

Hydrogen production research in Mexico:

A review By: Hosam S. Rayes

Report for overview of a paper "hydrogen production research in Mexico: A review" to

fulfillment of the requirement the hydrogen energy system course (REE618)Department of mechanical engineering, Libyan academy

January 5, 2017

Hydrogen production research in Mexico: A review �1

AbstractThe present report is aimed to present a review of research activities in the field of

hydrogen production in Mexico. Main research activities are reflected in journal publications and conference proceedings within the last seven years. These resulted in the following topics and contributions: Hydrogen production (HP) from biological processes and wastes 40.4%, followed by HP through conventional and non- conventional fuels (CO2 capture and Catalysis) 22.4%, HP by photocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis 14.1%, HP systems and controls 12.2%, theoretical and thermodynamic studies for HP 7.7%, and HP by electrolysis 3.2%. A wide variety of potential applications can be followed by these contributions, while the spread of this report can be a key for future national or international collaborations that may strengthen this important area to take advantage of the upcoming opportunities in the country and worldwide.


IntroductionAt present, there are different methods for producing hydrogen, and these are

characterized by their primary source. Among the primary sources are fossil fuels like natural gas and coal as well as renewable sources such as biomass, solar, wind, hydro and nuclear. Additionally, in production technologies there is also many alternatives, such as chemical, biological, electrolytic, photolytic, and thermo-chemical processes. The choice of the primary energy source and the technology to produce hydrogen are strongly linked to parameters such as fuel costs as well as environmental and social impacts. Fig. 1 shows the most employed current technologies to produce hydrogen.

Fig. 1—Most employed current technologies to produce hydrogen [1].

In general, electrical and thermal energy can be produced from fossil fuels, nuclear, or recovered energy and renewable energies such as solar, wind, hydro, thermal and biomass. Photonic energy originates from solar irradiation, while biochemical energy is recovered from organic matter. Carbon and biomass (with solar energy as a source) can be gasified to produce syngas (a mixture of H2 and CO) followed by gas processing and separation to obtain pure hydrogen.


Reforming options include catalytic steam methane reforming (SMR), partial oxidation (PO) and other variants under development (i.e. CO2 capture). In SMR, methane reacts with steam at 700'C 950'C to produce syngas, CO is then converted into CO2 , producing additional H2 by the water gas shift reaction (WGS). In the POx process, methane reacts initially with pure O2 to generate syngas. Hydrogen can be produced using nuclear energy as a source of primary energy, through thermal splitting of the water molecule, electrolysis and thermochemical processes, the three alternatives are free of carbon emissions.

The electricity produced in the off-peak or no-demand time, or at the time of huge river flows in the spring can be stored in the form of hydrogen, and later, when the peak energy is needed, the hydrogen converted to electricity. One of the advantages of the proposed system is that the resource for production of hydrogen (the water) is available directly at the site.

Moreover, eolic energy is constantly growing worldwide. In some locations today, wind is cost competitive with conventional, fossil fuel, or nuclear generated electricity.Furthermore, hydrogen production by solar technology can be produced by two methods. Solar energy is converted to electricity in a photovoltaic cell (PV) and hydrogen is generated by electrolysis of water.

Finally, photocatalysis converts photonic energy (solar irradiation) to chemical energy (hydrogen). When a photon encounters the photocatalyst, an electronehole pair is generated and the obtained electrical charge is employed to dissociate water. In order for a photocatalyst to split water and generate hydrogen, it should have an appropriate band gap and properly located conduction and valance bands for oxidation/reduction reactions. The most studied material so far is TiO2 .

The development of a photocatalyst must fulfill certain requirements:(a) Visible light absorption.(b) High chemical stability in the dark and under illumination.(c) Band edge positions that overlap the water reduction and oxidation potentials(d) Efficient charge transport.(e) Low over potentials for reduction/oxidation of water.(f) Low cost


Hydrogen production research in Mexico: A reviewIn Mexico, research related to hydrogen technologies is today very active and specifically, one of the major contributions is generated in the field of hydrogen production. In this field major contributions come from the following areas: hydrogen production from biological processes, modified hydrogen production and catalysis (CO2 capture), photocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis, systems and controls, theoretical and thermodynamic studies and electrolysis, as shown in Fig. 2. Hydrogen production based on biological processes, hydrocarbon processing, photocatalysis, electrolysis, theoretical studies and systems and control.

Fig. 2—Major research areas in H2 production in Mexico.

Within the biological processes for hydrogen production the Research activities in Mexico focused on five main fields:1. bioreactors their operation and specific applications.2. Micro-algae as source for photosynthetic hydrogen.3. Bacteria and microorganisms.4. Fermentation of organic matter.5. Microbial electrolysis cells (MEC).


With respect to the hydrocarbon processing field, conventional processes (commercially mature technologies) for H2 production have been used for years to obtain large scale hydrogen through processes such as steam reforming, coal gasification, and partial oxidation of hydrocarbons and these are characterized by presenting high operating costs, being energy intensive with low efficiencies and large CO2 discharges. However, these technologies can be modified and could be considered as a bridge technology, while new sustainable technologies such as photocatalysis, water electrolysis, bio-hydrogen, etc., are able to produce H2. Six mayor areas of research have emerged from an important number of scientific publications and these are:1. Catalysis.2. Hydrocarbon decomposition.3. Steam reforming with CO2 capture.4. H2S reforming.5. Water gas shift.6. Partial oxidation by metal oxides.

Concerning the photocatalysis research towards hydrogen production, this can be encountered in papers related to the following fields:1. Photocatalytic water splitting2. Visible light activated photocatalysis.3. Mixed oxides photocatalysts.4. Photocatalytic nanostructures.5. Photocatalytic thin films6. Metallic photocatalyst doping.7. Novel photoelectrodes.

In the field of theoretical studies and systems, the areas where the more active research is concentrated are:1. Thermodynamic analyses.2. Reactor optimization and control.3. Renewable energy H2 systems4. Electrolysis and electrolyzers.5. Solar- H2 fuel cell systems.6. Energy and exergy analyses.

Furthermore, the contribution of the main activities related to hydrogen production research in Mexico with respect to the topics involved in the present review is presented in Fig. 3.


Fig. 3—Contribution of published papers by main topics of research on hydrogen production in Mexico.

From this Figure, it can be seen that the distribution of main research activities are reflected in Journal publications and Mexican conference proceedings within the last seven years. This resulted in the following topics and contributions: Hydrogen production (HP) from biological processes and wastes 40.4%, followed by HP through conventional and non- conventional fuels (CO2 capture & Catalysis) 22.4%, HP by photocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis 14.1%, HP systems and controls 12.2%, theoretical and thermodynamic studies for HP 7.7%, and HP by electrolysis 3.2%. A wide variety of potential applications can be followed by these contributions, while the spread of this report can be a key for future national or international collaborations that may strengthen this important area within the energy sector to take advantage of the upcoming opportunities of research and development.


ConclusionsHydrogen has become one of the most promising alternative energy carriers in the country, this in view to decentralize the today's energy production based on oil. Hydrogen versatility of new applications, high calorific value, and the fact that can be used as a clean fuel are some examples of the high potential in research and development activities.

The most active area of report for hydrogen production in Mexico deals with biological related processes (40% of published papers) with interesting topics such as bioreactors; their operation and specific applications, microalgae as source for photosynthetic hydrogen, bacteria and microorganisms, fermentation of organic matter and microbial electrolysis cells (MEC). These research activities have been enhanced by the actual trend to make use of a vast industrial and agroindustrial organic wastes that the country currently produce in many areas of Mexico's economic activities where biomass can be obtained in a regular basis.

The next more active research area is related to modified hydrogen processes and catalysis from conventional processes (22%). In this field, the use of an extensive experience in process operation, as well as the reuse of existing infrastructure in Mexico can be of great value towards novel applications intended to reduce energy, enhance production and consequently operating costs. In this area the combination of reforming or WGS combined with CO2 capture have shown relevant improvements with respect to the conventional operation.

Furthermore, in the field of catalysis, novel nanostructures are being synthesized to enhance H2 yield and resistance to carbon formation in steam reforming among other hydrocarbon-based processes, these include mixed metals over oxide supports. Hydrogen production research based on photocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis materials is focused on materials activated under the visible light spectrum and the incorporation of metals or metal oxide nanoparticles on the surface of semiconductors as co-catalysts to enhance the photoactivity for the water splitting reaction. This research area is focused on synthesizing photocatalytic materials to be efficient, stable, harmless, abundant, and inexpensive. These produced as powders, nanostructures and thin films.

Another very active research field in hydrogen production in Mexico is that devoted to systems and controls (12%). In this field, the research trend has been to employ the coupling of a solar-hydrogen system consisting of a commercial electrolyzers and PV solar systems interconnected in different configurations. Other systems are focused in storing the energy from seashore waves in the form of hydrogen through novel Blow- Jet designs. While other research are concentrated in the use of a dielectric-barrier discharge plasma reactor for hydrogen production and in the use of recycled waste aluminum for hydrogen generation systems.


In the field of theoretical studies (8%) research trends are concentrated in simulation studies to optimize hydrogen production reactors and thermodynamic studies to predict conditions for enhanced hydrogen generation, evaluate thermal efficiencies and to avoid carbon formation.

In the field of electrolysis (3%), novel alloys are being proposed in electrolytic alkaline medium through ball milling synthesis and different nanoparticles as electrocatalysts for water electrolysis.

Finally, the present review on the hydrogen production research in Mexico (within the last seven years) is expected to show a measure of the scientific activity in the field, advances in each area, as well as to provide sources of information to enhance research collaboration in the Mexico and in the world.


References[1]. Hydrogen production research in Mexico: A review/ A. Lo pez Ortiz, M.J. Mel endez Zaragoza, V. Collins-Martı´nez/ Departamento de Ingenierı´a y Quı´mica de Materiales, Centro de Investigacio n en Materiales Avanzados, S.C., Miguel de Cervantes 120, Chihuahua, Chih., 31136, Mexico.


report on Hydrogen production research in Mexico: A review

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