Project Name: Small-Scale Methanol-to-Hydrogen Equipment

Operating flexibility of the unit: 30%–110%

Annual operating time: ≥8,000 hours

Principle of Methanol-to-Hydrogen Technology

After methanol is mixed with water in a specified ratio, it is vaporized and superheated, then passed through a catalyst under specific temperature, pressure, and flow conditions, where methanol reforming and carbon monoxide shift reactions occur, ultimately producing a mixed gas of hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

The methanol steam reforming reaction is a complex gas–solid catalytic system involving multiple components and multiple reactions.

The main reaction is:

CH3OH ⇌ CO + 2H2 -90.7 kJ/mol

CO + H₂O ⇌ CO₂ + H₂ +41.2 kJ/mol

The overall reaction is:

CH3OH + H2O ⇌ CO2 + 3H2 -49.5 kJ/mol

After the reaction, the resulting mixed gas is cooled, condensed, and separated to yield conversion gas with a hydrogen content of approximately 74.5%, a CO₂ content of about 24.5%, and a CO content no higher than 1.0%. The single-pass methanol conversion rate typically exceeds 98%, and the unreacted feedstock (methanol and demineralized water) is returned to the feedstock system for recycling. The conversion gas is then sent to a pressure swing adsorption unit for separation and purification, yielding product hydrogen that meets the required specifications.

2.1.2 Principle of Pressure Swing Adsorption Process

Pressure Swing Adsorption Principle:

Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technology has become the primary method for hydrogen separation worldwide and has been successfully employed in the separation and purification of gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, oxygen, and methane, as well as in the purification of other industrial gases, enjoying increasingly widespread applications.

The adsorption separation of gas mixtures is carried out in a fixed-bed adsorber. One or more adsorbents are packed into the adsorber; when a hydrogen‑containing gas mixture enters the adsorber at a specified pressure, the differing adsorption characteristics of the gas components cause each component to form an adsorption enrichment zone at different locations within the bed. The most strongly adsorbed component (CO₂) becomes enriched at the inlet end of the adsorber, while the least strongly adsorbed component (H₂) is enriched at the outlet end. The enrichment zones of the remaining components are distributed throughout the middle of the adsorber according to their relative adsorption strengths, thereby achieving hydrogen separation and purification. By employing the PSA pressure swing adsorption method, hydrogen with a purity ranging from 99% to 99.9999% can be produced.

This project utilizes YPH’s intelligent alcohol-based high-purity hydrogen production equipment. Compared with products in the same industry, this product boasts leading performance metrics nationwide and offers the following six notable advantages:

Advantage One: Equipment is integrated, skid-mounted, and requires a small footprint.

The equipment is highly integrated and skid-mounted, with a small footprint— a 100 Nm³/h hydrogen production unit occupies only one-tenth the floor space of an industrial natural gas–based hydrogen production plant of the same capacity.

Advantage Two: Wide Variety of Models and Comprehensive Functions

We have developed 20 standardized products with hydrogen production capacities ranging from 3 Nm³/h to 600 Nm³/h. These products come in a wide variety of models and offer comprehensive functionality; the same equipment can simultaneously adjust flow rate, pressure, purity, and heating method.

Advantage Three: High Level of Technological Innovation

This equipment is the first in the industry to adopt heat‑storage technology, eliminating the need for thermal oil furnaces or other heating media such as natural gas. It integrates waste heat recovery, catalytic heating, and heat exchange technologies, increasing the overall thermal efficiency from 50% to over 80%.

Advantage Four: Independently developed core catalyst for longer lifespan.

The on-board hydrogen production catalyst is independently developed, boasting a lifespan of over 24,000 hours—1.5 to 2 times that of conventional hydrogen production catalysts. What’s more, the combustion catalyst represents an industry first, enabling ignition of methanol and hydrogen at room temperature. Compared with traditional electric heating for hydrogen production, power consumption can be reduced by more than 80%.

Advantage Five: Explosion-proof throughout the entire process, offering a higher level of safety.

The equipment features a full-process explosion-proof design, enabling digitalization and intelligent core processes, with fully automated, unattended operation for enhanced safety.

Advantage Six: Hydrogen production equipment is ready to use immediately, delivering hydrogen in seconds.

Ready to use right out of the box, with hydrogen production in just seconds—by comparison, it takes about an hour for hydrogen generation equipment in the same industry to start up and begin producing hydrogen.