Blue hydrogen production through partial oxidation: a techno‐economic and life cycle assessment

Partial oxidation (POx) as a hydrogen production method has not received comprehensive exploration as the resulting syngas has a relatively low H2/CO ratio compared to established techniques like steam methane reforming (SMR). As a result, this study aims to comprehensively investigate the feasibility of a low‐carbon hydrogen production process using POx from both technical‐economic and environmental standpoints. To achieve this, the Aspen Plus® software is employed to model a hydrogen production plant with carbon capture integration, referred to as POx‐CCS (carbon capture and storage). The research reveals that the overall energy efficiency of the POx‐CCS process is around 73%. Moreover, the economic evaluation indicates that the levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH) is €1.8/ kgH2, given a fuel price of €5.7 per GJ. This cost competitiveness positions POx‐CCS in line with conventional hydrogen production methods. From an environmental perspective, the impact of climate change on hydrogen production through the POx‐CCS process is assessed to be 1.1 kg CO2 eq./kgH2. This impact is reduced by 69% compared to SMR with CCS.