Technical and economic feasibility under uncertainty for methane dry reforming of coke oven gas as simultaneous H₂ production and CO₂ utilization

The ultimate goal of this work is technical and economic feasibility analysis of a methane dry reforming (MDR) using a coke oven gas (COG) for a H₂ production capability of 700 m³ h⁻¹ because this technology is the promising alternative approach to H₂ production as well as CO₂ utilization. From process simulation works, process flow diagram is created for MDR using COG and validated by performance results from the previously reported literature. With a process flow diagram to be confirmed via model validation, the best reaction temperature of 1073 K is observed in terms of methane conversion. Based on process simulation results, economic analysis is performed. Furthermore, case studies focusing on an operating expense are conducted to consider various aspects of a CO₂ price and confirm the effect of CO₂ price on unit H₂ production cost. Respective H₂ production costs of 3.27, 2.71, and 2.38 $ kgH₂⁻¹ for a case 1 (reference), a case 2 (case 1 ​+ ​CO₂ absorption), and a case 3 (case 2 ​+ ​CO₂ from a blast furnace) are obtained. In addition, uncertainty analysis is performed to suggest the possible H₂ production cost range for each case by considering the uncertainty of CO₂ price fluctuation. Consequently, it is expected that a MDR using a COG is feasible for a H₂ production as well as CO₂ utilization technology compared to the current by-product H₂ cost if carbon cap-and-trade system is activated.