Novel Amine-Free, Ultra-Low-Carbon Hydrogen Technology: Production Process for an Affordable, Decarbonized, and Secure Energy Transition

Abstract Blue hydrogen production technologies, derived from fossil fuels and offering high rates of carbon capture, occupy an important position in the climate initiatives ecosystem. By providing a clean, high-energy-density product from abundant, affordable fuels—all while relying on existing infrastructure and knowledge—these solutions fit readily into energy transition narratives. In this paper, a novel oxy-fuel combustion, amine-free, blue hydrogen generation process is introduced and compared against conventional, state-of-the-art performance and cost benchmarks using inputs keyed to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Adopting analysis methodologies from a reference study, this ultra-low-carbon (ULC) technology demonstrates a clear advantage over the reference autothermal reforming (ATR) with amine-based CO2 capture plant: namely, a 9.8% increase in effective thermal efficiency, a 6.6% increase in cold gas efficiency, a 26.8% decrease in baseline carbon intensity (CI) score, and a 21.2% decrease in the levelized cost of hydrogen. Oxy-fuel combustion, and the equipment associated with it, enables higher uses of waste heat from the hydrogen purification system. Furthermore, it reduces inefficiencies associated with nitrogen intrusion into the system and air's less ideal thermophysical properties as a thermal medium compared to CO2, thereby intensifying the blue hydrogen production process. The product streams—hydrogen and carbon dioxide—are kept separate throughout the process. Compared to the amine-based post-combustion capture (PCC) systems conventionally paired with hydrogen production technologies, oxy-fuel combustion offers improved performance parameters and costs for CO2 compression, purification, and storage equipment. This is made possible by the comparatively simple exhaust stream separation process. Composed principally of water and carbon dioxide (avoiding contamination by nitrogen as occurs in processes relying on air-fired heating), the exhaust stream readily separates into process condensate and pipeline-ready CO2. Not only does this simplified CO2 clean-up and export configuration reduce both project capital (CapEx) and operating expenditures (OpEx) versus amine systems, but it also avoids generation of the toxic byproducts (e.g., nitramines and nitrosamines) associated with such systems. The authors expect that as the transition to Net Zero builds momentum, hazardous chemical byproducts like these will become scrutinized in much the same manner as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With their local knowledge and significant capital resources, companies based in energy-abundant regions (e.g., the Middle East) are best positioned to anticipate and respond to such trends by adopting innovative solutions such as the technology discussed herein.