PYSTR HYDROGEN PROCESS

An Innovative Hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide Process by Energy Quest, Inc.

Hydrogen is a important component of many useful everyday products and energy sources.

Energy Quest, Inc.  has a new innovative hydrogen generation technology, the PyStR (Pyrolitic Steam Reforming) process.  The process can directly produce high purity hydrogen from biomass and other carbonaceous feed stocks such as coal. 

PtStR (pronounced Pie-Star) technology involves the simultaneous pyrolysis and steam reforming of virtually any solid, liquid or gaseous fuel.  Its products include separate high purity streams of hydrogen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen in a relatively low cost stainless steel or refractory lined vessel.

The PyStR technology has the potential to significantly reduce hydrogen costs to levels much less than present steam methane reforming methods.  The technology can use carbonaceous materials other than methane to produce hydrogen.  PyStR can directly produce near pure hydrogen in a single step; it does not require shift catalysts, separation membranes, oxygen separation, catalytic hot & cold shift reactors, pressure swing adsorption towers or liquefaction pressures. Hydrogen embrittlement is avoided altogether by combining pyrolysis with reforming in a direct contact refractory lined vessel. This eliminates the greatest system maintenance cost associated with current conventional technologies.  In addition, it utilizes a very dense phase continuous closed circuit recycle regeneration loop with an advanced solids/gas separation moving bed filter which eliminates the need for a separate solids removal system

 Key to the PyStR process is its use of calcium for carbon separation from steam reformed hydrogen gas.  The carbonation reaction is more exothermic than the reforming reactions are endothermic.  Thus hydrogen can be directly formed in a hot sink of jetting lime by continuous feeding of reactants.

The PyStR process involves 3 innovative steps.  In step 1, fuel and steam are fed directly into the heat sink of lime sorbent.  As the solid fuel pyrolyzes, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide immediately react with calcium oxide to form limestone while near pure hydrogen exits the reactor vessel along with some excess steam.  Step 2 involves an innovative separation of solids from gases and removal of ash from the process. 

Step 3, or calcination, includes another innovative PyStR process wherein a small portion of product hydrogen is combusted in air resulting in an near pure nitrogen and water stream as well as a separate near pure carbon dioxide stream produced in an indirect jetting calciner.

To date the PyStR has produced hydrogen by steam reforming biomass fuels, charcoal, wood chips and shredded elephant grass.  The PyStR has also achieved very high solids/gas separation efficiencies in an innovative, continuous process without the need for bags or electrostatic precipitation.

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