e-THOR

Electrolysis Technology for H2 and O2 production in Rotterdam

Publieke samenvatting / Public summary

Aanleiding
AVR currently produces and supplies steam and electricity; Tronox is a TiO2 producer and uses steam from two sources, as an import from AVR and by burning CO in an air incinerator. Burning CO in the incinerator has two major consequences: • the opportunity to convert CO to high value chemical products is lost • burning CO in the incinerator produces CO2, which is costly to capture and store. As such, this is both a problem and a lost opportunity. TNO, AVR, Tronox and Deltalinqs have identified the use of electricity in a hydrolyzer along with the use of oxygen for the partial oxidation of carbon as a unique combination, which can set the basis for electricity based production of chemicals at a large scale. In addition, a highly purified CO2 stream results as a by-product which can potentially be used for CCU applications (e.g. greenhouses). While most value chains for electrolysis focus on use of H2, in this case we make a combination H2 and O2 in an novel setting of a waste incineration plant and a TiO2 producer. Furthermore, the waste heat from electrolyzer can be used for contributing towards the city heating network.

Doelstelling
The aim of this project is to study the techno-economic feasibility of implementing a 5 MW electrolyzer at AVR to produce O2 for Tronox and H2 used in the Rotterdam harbor industrial cluster. The long term view is scaling up towards 100 MW. Investigating and comparing different value chains, and the corresponding materials and energy streams, will support the decision-making process for AVR and Tronox for large scale implementation of electrolyzers. To reach this aim the following evaluations will be made: • Comparison between different state-of-the-art electrolyzer technologies for high purity H2 and O2 production, at 5 MW scale; • Investigation of high purity oxygen uptake in the partial oxidation process at Tronox along with downstream removal of CO2 from the CO2-CO rich waste gas stream, downstream of the distillation step; • Evaluation of the impact of using carbon neutral electricity for the production of H2 and O2, to lower the overall CO2 footprint for the downstream users of these gases. • Evaluation of the potential to use the CO/CO2 gas stream resulting from the partial oxidation step as a product (fixed carbon).

Korte omschrijving
The activities for this project are organized in five different work packages: WP1: User case definition. WP2: Mapping product off-takers, defining the energy & material flows for a 5 MW electrolyzer. WP3: Techno-Economical assessment for H2 – O2 product value chain. WP4: Future outlook, sensitivity and gap analysis for technology scale-up. WP5: Reporting, communication and project management.

Resultaat
This project will result in the following three reports as outcome: a. A memo report in word format describing the user requirements and boundary conditions. b. A ppt report with comparison of main suppliers of electrolyzers at 5 MW scale along with basic material and energy balances and impact on the business case. c. A ppt report for the techno-economic assessment for H2 – O2 product value chain along with a view for scale up towards a 100 MW electrolyzer in the Rotterdam Industrial Cluster.